Ending Mass Incarceration with Premal Dharia

Premal Dharia has spent the last twenty years dedicated to challenging injustice in the criminal system and nearly 15 years as a public defender.  She has tried dozens of cases and supervised lawyers at various levels of practice. 

Premal will be joining Harvard Law School as the inaugural Executive Director of the Institute to End Mass Incarceration, launching this summer. The Institute’s mission is to end mass incarceration in the United States through a movement-centered, action-oriented organizing and advocacy program with a bold and ambitious innovation institute.

We talk about the history of mass incarceration and the current situation as it stands in the United States. She discusses why prisoners are disproportionately Black and Latino,  her work as a public defender and civil attorney, why she thinks public defenders are key to systemic change within the criminal system, founding and directing the Defender Impact Initiative, and what we need to know about post-colonialism and the impact it has had on people of color.

We discuss her upbringing as a South Asian woman, what she is most excited about in he new role as Executive Director, and why public defenders have the reputation they do.

To learn more, please check out-

https://endmassincarceration.org/

https://inquest.org/