Criminal Justice Reform on the Menu at Wallingford Presbyterian

Bobby Harris, a juvenile lifer for 29 years, discusses change in the incarceration system, May 22

On May 22 at Wallingford Presbyterian Church, Bobby Harris and Rick Lowe will talk about the work being done in the Delaware Valley to reform the criminal justice system.

Harris served 29 years in prison until being released in 2017 following the United States Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama, which deemed unconstitutional mandatory life sentences for juveniles without the possibility of parole. Harris now works as a community organizer and leader. He will share his personal story of imprisonment, challenges he overcame, and his work to close jails, build communities and address the collateral consequences of incarceration.

Lowe, a Media resident and former Swarthmore mayor, is a litigator and mediator, and a volunteer at SCI Phoenix, (formerly Graterford Prison), whose inmates are primarily “lifers,” many sentenced as juveniles. He works as their liaison and assists in their effort to pass legislation that would permit parole eligibility.

The event, sponsored by WPC’s Peacemaking and Social Justice Committee, will begin with a potluck supper at 6:30 p.m. in the Reception Room, followed by the discussion from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. The talk (which was postponed by a snowstorm earlier this year) is part of the church’s Wednesdays @ Wallingford series. The event is free and a free-will offering will be taken.

Wallingford Presbyterian Church is located at 110 East Brookhaven Road, Wallingford. For more information, visit www.wallingfordpres.org.