Ghosts of Justice: Exposing the Failures and Reimagining the Future of the American Legal System

Having witnessed and experienced the American justice system’s unreasonable treatment of incarcerated people, the activists of this panel shed light on the shrouded reality of the ghosts currently being unduly punished. In his polemic Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy, and an Abolitionist Future, Emile Suotonye DeWeaver combines personal narrative with social commentary to critique the entrenched white supremacy that influences reform efforts, spotlighting the tools we need to address it both within and outside the carceral setting. Dorsey E. Nunn also reflects on lessons he learned in prison, namely that the criminal legal system increasingly targets poor Black and Brown communities with offenses, real or contrived. His memoir What Kind of Bird Can’t Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection details his efforts to liberate those he left behind, exemplifying the importance of centering voices of experience in the fight for freedom and dignified flight. Scott Dozier, the subject of Emmy award-winning investigative reporter Gianna Toboni’s The Volunteer: The Failure of the Death Penalty in America and One Inmate's Quest to Die with Dignity, sought dignity through expedited death but was met with a death penalty system rife with black market dealings, supply chain labyrinths, disputed drugs, and botched executions. Moderated by Piper Kerman, justice reform activist, author of Orange is the New Black, and Chair of the Bay Area Book Festival Board, this panel will take a critical look at a system that has failed the public it claims to serve and discuss the necessary next steps toward justice.