Punishment in the U.S. Penal System to be Explored in Constitution Day Program on September 16 at William Paterson University in Wayne Terrell A. Blount, activist and program coordinator for the New Jersey Scholarship for Transformative Education in Prisons, to speak at 11 a.m. The U.S. Constitution guarantee against “cruel and unusual punishment” will be explored in a lecture focused on the nation’s criminal justice system during William Paterson University’s observance of the 11th annual Constitution Day on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Terrell A. Blount, a motivational speaker, mentor, and activist for prison reform and civil rights, who serves as coordinator for the New Jersey Scholarship for Transformative Education in Prisons will present the lecture the lecture, titled “Cruel and Unusual: Punishment in the U.S. Penal System,” to be held from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in University Commons Ballroom C on campus. Federal legislation signed in December 2004 requires all educational institutions that receive federal funds to implement an educational program in mid-September each year that provides students with increased awareness and appreciation of the U.S. Constitution and to help develop the habits of citizenship. The program is sponsored by the American Democracy Project (ADP) at William Paterson University, part of a nationwide initiative coordinated by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) that seeks to increase civic engagement levels of U.S. students attending public colleges and universities in the 21st century. The lecture will be followed by an informal voter registration discussion led by the ADP’s “Youth Vote 2016” outreach team. Blount is a regular speaker on topics such as post-secondary education for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, race and class, and police brutality, as well as his own experiences within the criminal justice system. Upon completion of a six-year prison sentence in 2009, Terrell enrolled in Rutgers University-New Brunswick, graduating with a dual degree in communication and Africana studies in 2013. He is currently a program coordinator for New Jersey Scholarship for Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP), an initiative that actively assists previously incarcerated people in achieving their two-year and four-year degrees. Blount is also a student at Rutgers-Newark, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration. The program is also sponsored by the University’s Gandhian Forum for Peace and Justice and Department of Africana World Studies. For additional information, contact Wendy Christensen, assistant professor of sociology and interim director of the American Democracy Project, at christensenw@wpunj.edu. # # # 09/08/15
