Social Justice Lecture Series: The Death Penalty in the United States

Sunday, Jan 30th, 10:00am - 11:30am

Speaker: Lucy Elena Kissel, Public Defender, State of Rhode Island

Did you know that for every nine people executed in the United States, one person on death row has been exonerated? And that the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on the most vulnerable in our society? America’s use of the death penalty makes us an outlier among our closest allies and other democracies. Capital punishment sits at the intersection of some of the most urgent issues this country faces, including racism, poverty, and marginalization. This talk will focus on our use of the death penalty, its history, and the prospect of abolition.

Lucy Kissel is an assistant public defender in Rhode Island and was previously an attorney at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, a non-profit law office that provides representation to people facing the death penalty. Lucy earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from Brown University. During her time at NYU Law, Lucy participated in clinics with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the ACLU, and interned with the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, the Southern Center for Human Rights, and Texas Defender Service. On campus, she served as a director of the Prisoner Rights and Education Project and as a research assistant with the Center for Research in Crime and Justice. Lucy is the daughter-in-law

of Temple Aliyah members Stu and Sara Altman.

Co-sponsored by Temple Beth Shalom and Temple Aliyah, this program will be held in person at Temple Aliyah, 1664 Central Avenue, Needham

Contact tzedek@tbsneedham.org with questions