The upcoming Understanding and Responding to Mass Incarceration (URMI) 2025 Conference: Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Incarceration will take place Friday, April 11 at Metro State University’s Saint Paul campus.
This daylong conference, presented in collaboration with Minnesota Wrongfully Convicted Judicial Reform (MNWCJR), will amplify the voices of those whose lives and communities have been disrupted by wrongful conviction and incarceration. Topics will include the causes of wrongful conviction, wrongful incarceration as an abuse of human rights, the lived experience of those wrongfully incarcerated and their loved ones, and much more.
The morning keynote address will be delivered by Fred Hampton, Jr., president and chairman of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee and the Black Panther Party Cubs, with afternoon keynote by MNWCJR Founder and Executive Director Marvina Haynes, whose brother Marvin was exonerated and released from prison after spending nearly 20 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.
“Wrongful conviction and wrongful incarceration are injustices that damage many lives, including those who are wrongfully incarcerated and their families and communities,” says Metro State Professor Dr. Therissa Libby. “It disproportionately affects Black families and other families of color. Exoneration, if it happens at all, can take decades, only compounding both the injustice and the profound harm done.”
The annual URMI conference, now in its twelfth year, is free and open to all. Space is limited; registration is required.