True Crime Tuesday - Aging in Prison

Afterwards, we look forward to rounding off the evening with you at a relaxed get-together.

Limited number of participants.

Please register at zik(at)uni-graz.at.

This talk focuses on Aging in Prisons in the United States. First, the discussion will detail the problem and the number of impacted people. This will also include a discussion of the consequences to the system of providing appropriate care for an aged population including medical costs, disability requirements, and increased health risks to individuals. Next, the talk will explain in more detail the reasons for the increase in numbers of geriatric inmates including decades of “get tough on crime” policies, mandatory life without parole sentences, and the restriction of parole rights. Finally, this talk will outline a program at the University of Alabama Birmingham that engages undergraduate students and local lawyers in the fight for compassionate release of inmates who have already served 25 years in confinement, and the corresponding reentry components of that program.

In addition, representatives of the Directorate-General for the Prison Service and the Enforcement of Custodial Measures at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice will participate in the event. They will provide a brief introductory impulse on the management of this specific prison population in the Austrian context in order to offer additional perspective and create a framework for the subsequent discussion.

Guest Speaker

Stacy Moak is a Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Alabama Birmingham, in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Moak also holds secondary appointments in Criminal Justice and Social Work. She has been a faculty fellow in service-learning, study abroad, undergraduate research, and University Signature Core Development. Dr. Moak is a faculty associate with the Institute for Human Rights and works with the pre-law program. Dr. Moak provides community engagement activities for her students and the community by providing reentry simulations twice a year, simulating the first 4 weeks of transitioning from incarceration to community. In addition, Dr. Moak is the president of the Board of the Offender Alumni Association (OAA), a group of formerly incarcerated individuals who are working to improve the reentry process and reduce recidivism in their communities. Dr. Moak teaches Constitutional Law, Law and Society, Urban Politics, and Mural Art as Expressive Speech in her current teaching role.