Compassionate Justice Speaker Series : Lisa Kelly

Our 15th year in the series will continue our exploration of issues and concerns pertaining to both our criminal justice system and major social justice issues that are important to Canadians.

This year’s program will feature Lisa Kelly, Professor of Law, Queen’s University, who will speak on The Unfinished Revolution in Youth Justice.

Just over twenty years ago, Canada introduced the Youth Criminal Justice Act, sparking a quiet revolution in response to soaring youth incarceration rates. Since then, the number of young people arrested, charged, sentenced, and incarcerated has plummeted. This remarkable story of decarceration offers powerful lessons for how we think about justice today. In this talk, Professor Lisa Kelly of Queen’s University Faculty of Law situates the successes and failures of contemporary reform within the longer history of juvenile delinquency and young offender laws in Canada. And most importantly, asks what might the youth experience teach us about building a more humane and compassionate legal system for all.