(Wilf Impact Center Conversations) Purposes of Incarceration: How Retribution and Deterrence Have Shaped the Criminal Justice System

DATE
Tuesday, April 7, 2026

TIME
12:50 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. ET
Lunch will be provided.

LOCATION
W402

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Join us for the second session in our Purposes of Incarceration series as we explore the historical and present-day framing of incarceration. Through statistics, context, and discussion, we will examine how retribution and deterrence have shaped the criminal justice system and consider when punishment crosses the line from justice into systemic harm.

Professor Kirk D. Burkhalter ’04, Dean for Evening Division Engagement and Director of the 21st Century Policing Project, and Professor Anna G. Cominsky ’05, Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic and Managing Attorney of New York Law School Legal Services, Inc., will be leading the discussion.