Partakers Executive Director Arthur Bembury featured Panelist at Boston University Discussion: Crisis, Reform, Repeat – Applying Lessons from Correctional History.
In May, our Executive Director, Arthur Bembury, joined a distinguished group of criminal justice professionals for a panel discussion at Boston University. The event was hosted by Partakers Board Member, and longtime friend, Dr. Robert Cadigan. The panel discussion entitled Crisis, Reform, Repeat – Applying Lessons from Correctional History, was the first in a planned series of discussions on Crimninal Justice Reform.
Arthur offered an insider’s view of the John Boone era in Massachusetts Corrections (1972-1973). He began his comments with a lighthearted introduction-“It is a privilege to be here with my colleagues and former landlords.” and spoke to the vision, hope and view he and his incarcerated brethren had about John Boone.
“We were looking for a voice. You know when something isn’t right. . . When John Boone came into the picture, we looked at him as a hero. We looked at him as a savior: programs,education, furloughs – things we never thought would be possible. . . From the inside, it created unlikely allies. You would never see a group of Black men and a group of White men from different areas with different views . . . come together to form alliance.”
The panel discussion was held by Boston University's MET College Department of Applied Social Sciences and explored the initiatives, aspirations, efforts, and mistakes of John Boone, who served as the Commissioner of Correction in Massachusetts from 1972 to 1973. The discussion focused on the impact of correctional policy on all stakeholders, the barriers to creating long-term change in the criminal legal system, the balance of public safety, transparency, and accountability, and the potential for community-based corrections to make communities safer. The event sponsors said of the event that “This period is again relevant as we are currently starting a new cycle of reforms in our criminal justice system. There is much that current policy makers, scholars, and criminal justice practitioners can learn from the initiatives, aspirations, efforts, and mistakes of 50 years ago. We hope that this event will inspire the future leaders of corrections and contribute to the ongoing dialogue about reforming our criminal justice system.”
Included among the panel were: Hon. Paul Chernoff, Chair of the Parole Board in 1972, James Circo, a former Assistant Secretary for Criminal Justice in the Executive Office of Human Services, Jim Isenberg, former Assistant Secretary of Human services (who recruited John Boone), Andrew Peck, current Undersecretary of Public Safety in the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, and Luis Spencer, Former Massachusetts Commissioner of Correction. Dr. Robert Cadigan, of the BU Department of Applied Social Sciences , who provided an historical Introduction. In addition, Peter Goldmark, Massachusetts Secretary of Human Services during the Boone years provided a video message. The evening was moderated by Deborah Becker, WBUR Host and Senior Correspondent.