Criminal Injustice: Accountability and Reform - The 92nd Street Y, New York
Cart 0
Log in
Donate

Your Cart

Subtotal: $0.00

Does not include service & handling fees, if applicable.

Online
XYZ Happier Hour

Criminal Injustice: Accountability and Reform

A Conversation with Qiana Johnson, Fiona Apple, Marguerite Lanaux, and Scott Hechinger, moderated by Rachel Handler

Apr 8, 2021


An intimate conversation about the often hidden cruelty and violence happening everyday in courtrooms across the country, the urgent need for accountability and transparency, and what you can do about it. With organizers, artists, and public defenders: Qiana Johnson, founder of Life after Release and a Court Watch program in Prince George’s County, MD; Marguerite Lanaux, supervising attorney in the Office of the Public Defender in Prince George’s County Maryland; Fiona Apple, musician and Court Watcher; and Scott Hechinger, former Brooklyn public defender & now director of Zealous. We’ll talk about the intersection of arts and criminal justice, the significance of bearing witness to abuses of power, how Court Watch prevents injustice and why we need to fight for its survival now under attack, and how we can all work together towards abolition.

Qiana Johnson

Qiana Johnson is the founder of Life After Release Inc, a formerly incarcerated women-led organization supporting system …

Qiana Johnson

Qiana Johnson is the founder of Life After Release Inc, a formerly incarcerated women-led organization supporting system involved people in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia). She is organizing to build a post-conviction movement challenging the integrity of convictions and the system responsible for convicting us in the first place. She is also a local community organizer with Black Lives Matter DC, a national trainer with Silicon Valley Debug, Participatory Defense, and a proud member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.

Before her incarceration in 2015, she completed 10 years of Federal Government service. Currently, she is pursuing a Bachelors in Legal Studies at the University of Maryland University College, with a concentration in Public Safety. After her release from prison on August 21, 2017. Qiana immediately started doing work around prison abolition, prosecutor accountability, and ensuring that formerly incarcerated individuals get what they need to succeed.

Today Qiana’s purpose and passion lie in holding local government officials accountable and demanding progressive changes towards ending mass incarceration. She believes in ensuring public safety without the criminalization of a particular race or social class. She uses her story to empower formerly incarcerated women into becoming productive members of their communities.

Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple, Musician, Court Watcher.

Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple, Musician, Court Watcher.

Marguerite Lanaux

Marguerite E. Lanaux joined the Maryland Office of the Public Defender in 2013 …

Marguerite Lanaux

Marguerite E. Lanaux joined the Maryland Office of the Public Defender in 2013. She worked as a line Attorney in Baltimore City until 2018 before joining the Prince George's County Office where she is currently a Supervising Attorney. She received her B.A. in Human Communications from Howard University and her law degree from Howard University School of Law. Marguerite is passionate about exposing police misconduct, violence and takes part in a statewide effort through her office to force greater transparency in policing.

Scott Hechinger

Scott Hechinger served as a public defender for close to a decade in Brooklyn and now directs Zealous …

Scott Hechinger

Scott Hechinger served as a public defender for close to a decade in Brooklyn and now directs Zealous, a national initiative that supports and trains public defenders, the people and communities defenders serve, and local organizers to leverage new media, art, and storytelling strategies to end mass criminalization.

Rachel Handler

Rachel Handler is a features writer at Vulture/New York Magazine, covering film, TV, music, and culture …

Rachel Handler

Rachel Handler is a features writer at Vulture/New York Magazine, covering film, TV, music, and culture. Prior to Vulture, Rachel has written for Vanity Fair, MTV, The Dissolve, and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Categories: News & Politics


Did you know that donations cover nearly half of our costs?

As a nonprofit community and cultural center, The 92nd Street Y, New York relies on support from people like you. Your donation today helps us continue connecting you to the programs you love, no matter where in the world you are.

© 2024 The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association

All Rights Reserved.

All material accessed via the 92NY website (“content”) is protected by copyright under U.S. Copyright laws and is the property of The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association or the party credited as the provider of the content. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, display, perform, modify, create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any such content, nor may you distribute any part of this content over any network, including a local area network, sell or offer it for sale, or use such content to construct any kind of database. You may not alter or remove any copyright or other notice from copies of the content accessed via 92NY’s website. Copying or storing any content except as provided above is expressly prohibited without prior written permission of 92NY or the copyright holder identified in the individual content’s copyright notice.