PJIL Events
Upcoming Events
“85 To Stay Alive” Mock Prison Cell Exhibit
Students in the “Prisons and the Environment” class are partnering with Texas Prisons Community Advocates (TPCA) and the LBJ School’s Prison and Jail Innovation Lab (PJIL) to raise public awareness of the ongoing issue with extreme heat through TPCA’s mock prison cell exhibit, on display outside the Harry Ransom Center on the University of Texas campus. The mock cell will be heated to allow participants to experience a simulation of the temperatures faced by people in Texas prisons. There will also be speakers with lived experience talking about conditions behind bars, and displays with more information.
The exhibit is part of TPCA’s “85 to Stay Alive” campaign, which advocates for keeping Texas prisons below 85 degrees during the summer heat.
Wednesday | April 17, 2024 | 2-5pm CT
Location: Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Stay tuned for information about upcoming events or email inquiries to PJIL@austin.utexas.edu
Past Events
Cruel and Not Unusual: Can America’s Prisons and Jails Change, and, If So, How?
The Prison and Jail Innovation Lab hosted a symposium that brought together the country’s leading experts on prison and jail conditions to reflect on some of the most critical and challenging issues in our field. We discussed what can be done to address the seemingly intractable horrific conditions in certain correctional systems, and debated whether meaningful reform of America’s prisons and jails is truly possible.
Speakers and audience participants included people with lived experience; journalists; litigators; oversight practitioners; advocates; corrections officials; academics; and more.
Recordings: https://pjil.lbj.utexas.edu/cruel-and-not-unusual-conference-recordings
Program: https://pjil.lbj.utexas.edu/cruel-and-not-unusual-conference-program
Speakers: https://pjil.lbj.utexas.edu/cruel-and-not-unusual-conference-speakers
February 3-4, 2023
Location: Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas | Eidman Courtroom
"We Are Not Slaves": A Book Talk and Panel Discussion
Author Robert Chase will discuss his book “We Are Not Slaves,” a history of the prisoners’ rights movement in Texas in the second half of the 20th century told from the vantage point of prisoners themselves. The book weaves together untold truths from the histories of labor, civil rights, and politics in the United States as it narrates the transition from prison plantations of the past to the mass incarceration of today.
Professor Talitha LeFlouria (History Dept.) will introduce Chase and his work. Following Chase’s talk, Michele Deitch, Distinguished Senior Lecturer and PJIL’s Director, will lead a panel discussion with local advocates focused on current prison labor practices and the “end the exception” movement.
This important and timely event is hosted by William Wayne Justice Center at UT School of Law and co-sponsored by the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab and UT’s Initiative for Law, Societies, and Justice.
Thursday | November 3, 2022 | 5:00pm CT
Location: Townes Hall
PJIL Presents: An Evening with Keri Blakinger, author of Corrections in Ink
The Prison and Jail Innovation Lab (PJIL) at the LBJ School of Public Affairs hosted an evening of conversation with author and journalist Keri Blakinger, as she discussed her new acclaimed memoir, Corrections in Ink, with LBJ School Professor Michele Deitch.
After spending nearly two years behind bars, Keri became a reporter dedicated to exposing to exposing our flawed prisons as only an insider could. This moderated discussion provided a forum for discussing prison conditions, women in custody, and the potential for redemption among justice-impacted people. Click here to learn more about our speakers and Corrections in Ink.
Tuesday | September 20, 2022 | 5:15pm CT
Location: LBJ Bass Lecture Hall
Past Presentations and Webinars
“The National Resource Center for Correctional Oversight: A New Online Resource for Practitioners, Policymakers, and Advocates”
At the National Association for the Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) annual conference, Michele and Alycia introduced the National Resource Center for Correctional Oversight website and reviewed the various components that can be of help to oversight practitioners, policymakers, and advocates. Attendees learned how to use this new resource in their work.
Thursday, November 13, 2023
Location: Chicago, Illinois
“The Nightmare of Sleep in Prison” at ICPA 2023
Wednesday, October 26, 2023
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
“A Conversation with New Jersey’s New Corrections Ombudsman” at NACOLE 2022
At the National Association for the Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) annual conference, Michele spoke with Terry Scheuster, the newly-appointed Corrections Ombudsman in New Jersey, about lessons he has learned about launching a new oversight body.
Tuesday, November 13, 2022
Location: Ft. Worth, Texas
“A Gender-Responsive Approach to Corrections During the COVID-19 Pandemic” at NACOLE 2022
At the National Association for the Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) annual conference, Alycia facilitated a panel examining the distinct challenges faced by women in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying ways to mitigate the harm women experienced during the pandemic. The panel explored the possible steps policymakers and corrections officials could take to strengthen public health and improve safety for women in custody, their families, and communities.
Tuesday, November 13, 2022
Location: Ft. Worth, Texas
"The Pandemic Gender Gap Behind Bars" and Lessons for the Future at ICPA 2022
At the 2022 International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA)'s annual conference, Michele Deitch and Alycia Welch, authors of the report “The Pandemic Gender Gap Behind Bars: Meeting the Needs of Women in Custody During COVID-19 and Planning for the Future,” examined the distinct challenges faced by women in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies to address those needs.
Wednesday | October 26, 2022 | 11:45am ET
Location: Orlando, Florida
Women in the Criminal Justice System: A Roundtable Discussion
Alycia joined a roundtable discussion on the U.S. Capitol Hill hosted by U.S. Representative Karen Bass (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) to share her expertise on women in the criminal justice system and ways to reduce the harm women experience in correctional facilities.
Thursday | July 14, 2022
Location: U.S. Capitol Hill
A Gender-Responsive Approach to Corrections During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Social Justice Research Forum, Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Texas at Austin. Alycia Welch and Michele Deitch highlight findings in their forthcoming report, “Pandemic Gender Gap Behind Bars: Meeting the Needs of Women in Custody During COVID-19 and Planning for the Future.”
April 30, 2021
Policy on Purpose, Episode 1: Criminal Justice Reform
In this episode of the LBJ School's new podcast series "Eye on the Lege: Inside the 87th Texas Legislature," PJIL Directors Michele Deitch and Alycia Welch discuss the bills surrounding criminal justice policy and policing this session.
April 19, 2021
Correcting Corrections: Lessons for Prisons and Jails in a Post-COVID World
Michele joined the GovExec Daily podcast to discuss the pandemic in the corrections system and how the COVID-19 crisis has brought serious problems in the carceral system to the forefront.
February 1, 2021
LBJ In the Arena: Jails & Prisons
Michele sat down with LBJ alumna Nancy La Vigne (MPAff ‘91), then vice president for justice policy at the Urban Institute, and Dr. Ronald Day, vice president of programs at the Fortune Society, to discuss the far-reaching effects of COVID-19 on the criminal justice system, including policing, confinement conditions in jails and prisons, and state and local reforms.
April 8, 2020
Strategies for Prisons, Jails, and Oversight Bodies During the COVID-19 Crisis
Michele joined other national experts, members of the oversight community and others to share information about what jurisdictions across the country are doing to address COVID-19 in jails and prisons, strategies for reducing jail and prison populations, important COVID-19 policy recommendations, practices across the country, and what the current crisis says about the past, present, and future of American carceral policy.
March 24, 2020
Why are we trying kids as adults? | Michele Deitch | TEDxAmherstCollege
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. PJIL Director Michele Deitch addresses the problem of youth who are prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system and confined in adult jails and prisons.