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Faceless No More
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Carol Woods Forum for Peace and Justice:
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Two-part workshop, February 22, and March 29, 2021
Hundreds of thousands of Americans with serious mental health challenges are behind bars instead of in medical facilities. This two-part workshop will examine the intersection of criminal justice and mental health, considering why our system has evolved in its current form and how it might change. Some questions it will address include:
- Have we criminalized mental and developmental disabilities?
- Are mental health issues ever considered in sentencing and rehabilitation?
- How do our prisons now address the mental health needs of their residents (inmates) and staff?
- Mark Hall, founder of Faceless No More at www.facelessnomore.org, and guest experts will share their firsthand knowledge and answer your questions.
Mark Hall, Facilitator
Mark Hall knows the realities of incarceration from personal experience. For many years he ran a successful financial services company. Then he made some very bad decisions in response to the financial crisis. Mark was arrested and convicted of embezzlement, serving ten years in prison. Even before his release in October 2019, Mark dedicated his life to helping other prisoners and raising public awareness about incarceration. He’s taught several classes and reached hundreds of students. He’s established an educational platform about addiction, homelessness and incarceration, at www.facelessnomore.org . He’s the assistant director of operations for the Durham Rescue Mission. His story will help you learn about the larger story of what is happening behind our prison walls.
Session #1: “The Intersection of Criminal Justice and Mental Disabilities”
Mark Hall will be joined by Elizabeth Kelley Esq.
Mark Hall will be joined by Elizabeth Kelley Esq.
Elizabeth Kelley is a criminal defense lawyer with a nationwide practice focused on representing people with mental disabilities. She co-chairs the Criminal Justice Advisory Panel of The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability. She is the editor of Representing People with Mental Disabilities: A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers (2018) and Representing People with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers (2020), both published by the American Bar Association (ABA). She is active in the ABA, serving on the Council of the Criminal Justice Section, the Editorial Board of Criminal Justice Magazine, and on the Commission for Disability Rights. She served as a Non-Governmental Observer on behalf of the ABA of the Military Commission Hearings at Guantanamo in 2019.
Ms. Kelley served three terms on the board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), chaired its Mental Health as well as Membership Committees, and is a Life Member. She served on the Problem-Solving Courts Task Force and Body Camera Task Force. She traveled to Liberia in 2009 and 2014 as part of a delegation sponsored by the U.N. Commission on Drugs and Crime and NACDL to train that country’s criminal defense bar.
She speaks and writes widely on the subjects of the intersection of mental disabilities and the criminal justice system. She has completed her 500-hour Yoga certification through Semperviva Studio in Vancouver, BC.
Ms. Kelley served three terms on the board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), chaired its Mental Health as well as Membership Committees, and is a Life Member. She served on the Problem-Solving Courts Task Force and Body Camera Task Force. She traveled to Liberia in 2009 and 2014 as part of a delegation sponsored by the U.N. Commission on Drugs and Crime and NACDL to train that country’s criminal defense bar.
She speaks and writes widely on the subjects of the intersection of mental disabilities and the criminal justice system. She has completed her 500-hour Yoga certification through Semperviva Studio in Vancouver, BC.
Session #2: “Mental Illness and the Unintended Consequence of Prisons Being the New Asylum”
Mark Hall will be joined by Peter Kuhns, Psy.D. Department of Public Safety & Jon Powell, Campbell University School of Law.
Mark Hall will be joined by Peter Kuhns, Psy.D. Department of Public Safety & Jon Powell, Campbell University School of Law.
Peter Kuhns, Psy.D., is the Director of Clinical Services and Programs with the North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice. He has spent the past 17 years working as a psychologist with both adjudicated juveniles and incarcerated adults. He began his career in 2003 working as a substance use therapist at C.A. Dillon Youth Development and then remained at this facility for the next 7 years serving as both a staff and senior psychologist. In 2010 he transferred to the adult corrections system when he took the position as psychological program manager for the inpatient mental health unit at Central Prison located in Raleigh, NC. In late 2012 he transferred to the position of psychological program manager for the outpatient program at Central Prison where he both oversaw the clinical operations of the prison and provided direct therapy services to the general population, restrictive housing, and death row units. In 2017 he returned to Juvenile Justice where he served as the clinical director for Lenoir Youth Development and then accepted his current position in early 2020. Dr. Kuhns is a licensed psychologist and received his doctorate from Forest Institute located in Springfield, MO. He currently lives in Durham, NC with his wife and two young children.
Attorney Jon Powell is a law professor at Campbell University in Raleigh, NC and serves as the director of the Restorative Justice Clinic. The Restorative Justice Clinic receives referrals from the juvenile justice system, adult criminal courts, and Wake County Schools. The clinic involves law students in all aspects of Restorative Justice which include Victim/Offender Dialogue in schools and court cases as well as victim impact work through restorative circles in prisons. Prior to working at Campbell University and the Restorative Justice Clinic Jon practiced law in Wake and Harnett counties. Jon’s primary focus was in criminal defense. Mr. Powell received his law degree from Campbell University in 1998.
