Al Sharpton is among those scheduled to take part in a panel discussion on the immediate need for criminal justice reform late this month. The event, dubbed REFORM: Bringing Injustice to Light, is inspired by the current incarceration of Meek Mill and will take place at the University of Pennsylvania's Irvine Auditorium.
REFORM was organized by student-led organizations from the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and Drexel University. Through a series of panel discussions, a variety of special guests will take a hard look at Mill's widely questioned case while also addressing the inherent problems with this country’s criminal justice system at large. Sharpton will be joined by artist Mysonne Linen, University of Pennsylvania professor Marie Gottschall, civil rights lawyer David Rudofsky, and more. An update on Mill’s case will be given by his mother Kathy Williams and attorney Joe Tacopina.
Last month, the Defender Association of Philadelphia announced that recent developments in Mill's case had inspired "clients who were wrongfully convicted in Philadelphia" to pursue new trials or get their charges dropped altogether. As previously reported, Tacopina filed an appeal in the form of a Post-Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) petition following troubling revelations about arresting officer Reginald Graham.
