About the Conference

Is justice in America just? That’s the question Siebel Scholars and a panel of leading experts, including Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who spent almost 20 years in prison for a multiple homicide he didn’t commit, tried to answer.

In panels moderated by Charlie Rose, the Emmy Award-winning host of Charlie Rose on PBS and 60 Minutes II on CBS, experts in the U.S. prison system and law enforcement held lively debates on how justice is meted out in America. In the morning, the topic of discussion was “Current Trends in the U.S. Prison Population and What They Mean.” In the afternoon, such noted panelists as Mr. Carter; Ron Angelone, the CEO of private prison management firm Correctional Solutions Incorporated; and Nadine Strossen, the president of the American Civil Liberties Union responded to the question “Is Punishment Too Often Cruel and Unusual?”

The Siebel Scholars in attendance found both issues challenging and the opinions inspiring. They had the opportunity to discuss the issues further during the evening’s cocktail reception and gala dinner.

Speakers

  • Speaker

    Ron Angelone

    Founder and CEO of Correctional Solutions Incorporated

    Mr. Angelone has more than 30 years of experience in the field of corrections. He began in 1970 as a youth home life supervisor in the Rhode Island Training School for Boys. He went on to work at the Dayton Rehabilitation Center city jail in Dayton, Ohio, and continued his career at the Statesville Prison in Joliet, Illinois, as a career counseling program director. Mr. Angelone continued his career at the Virginia Department of Corrections and then moved to Oklahoma as the warden of the Joseph Harp Correctional Center. He went on to the Texas Department of Corrections as regional director and later became assistant director of the Nevada Department of Prisons. In 1989 the governor of Nevada appointed him as director of the Department of Prisons. Mr. Angelone was appointed by Governor George Allen as director of the Virginia Department of Corrections in 1994, where he presided over the largest growth of inmate population in the state's history. Mr. Angelone was a member of the Governor's Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform. He retired from the Department of Corrections in September 2002 and founded Correctional Solutions Incorporated, where he is CEO.

  • Speaker

    Rubin Carter

    Executive director of the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted

    Rubin Carter is the former middleweight prizefighter from Paterson, New Jersey, whose thundering punches and menacing sports persona earned him the nickname "Hurricane." But he attained worldwide recognition and became a pop culture icon for his battle against America's criminal justice system. Mr. Carter was accused of triple homicide in 1966, and though he always maintained his innocence, he was convicted and given a triple life sentence. The New Jersey Supreme Court overturned the conviction because of government misconduct. In a second trial, Mr. Carter was convicted of the same crime and again sentenced to life, but once again the conviction was dismissed, this time by a federal judge who cited the government's withholding of material evidence and unconstitutional appeals to racial prejudice. The charges against Mr. Carter were ultimately dropped and he was fully vindicated. In sum, he spent almost 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. His strength and perseverance have been extolled in song by Bob Dylan, in a feature film with Denzel Washington, and in a best-selling book by James S. Hirsch, Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter. Mr. Carter also wrote a jailhouse memoir, The 16th Round. Mr. Carter is the executive director of the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted, a nonprofit organization that assists unlawfully incarcerated prisoners around the world.

  • Speaker

    Alan Elsner

    National correspondent for Reuters News Service

    Alan Elsner has covered some of the world's most important stories in his 25 years in journalism. His reporting and insightful commentary have been published by many important newspapers in the world. Currently, Mr. Elsner is a national correspondent for Reuters News Service. He covered the 9/11 attacks and aftermath, the war on terrorism, and homeland security. As a chief political correspondent, Mr. Elsner covered the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections. He traveled with the secretary of state as the State Department correspondent from 1989 to 1994. Mr. Elsner has covered the Cold War, the reunification of Germany, the first Gulf War, the Madrid Middle East Peace Conference, the aftermath of the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, the bombing of an Air India passenger plane, and numerous major stories around the globe. Mr. Elsner brings a unique perspective of today's major topics and issues as a notable journalist.

  • Speaker

    William Fraser

    Retired New York City department of corrections commissioner

    Mr. Fraser began his career with the New York City Department of Correction in 1978. Mr. Fraser's career accelerated and he continually rose through the ranks. As warden of the James A. Thomas Center, he was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the successful transfer of the Central Punitive Segregation Unit from that facility to the Otis Bantum Correctional Center. Later, as assistant chief of Division II, he had overall responsibility for the daily operation of six large facilities on Rikers Island, supervising approximately 4,000 uniformed and civilian staff, as well as 8,000 inmates of all classifications. During that period, he was responsible for developing and implementing the Facility Information System Network, which was initiated department-wide as the universal, centralized system for gathering and recording statistical data for the department's Total Efficiency Accountability Management System (TEAMS). TEAMS was a 2000 semi-finalist of Harvard University's prestigious Innovations in American Government awards program. Mr. Fraser was appointed commissioner in November 2000 by former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Since retiring in 2003, Mr. Fraser works with the International Counter Terrorism Officers Association.

  • Speaker

    Bernard Kerik

    Retired New York City police commissioner

    In 1986, Mr. Kerik took a job as a New York City police officer. Starting as a beat cop, he went on to become a narcotics investigator and undercover detective. In 1995, his prior success in correction facility management led Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to appoint him to an executive-level position in the city's Department of Correction, and he was appointed as the city's commissioner of correction in 1998. Mr. Kerik turned an agency regarded as unmanageable into a national model, cutting inmate violence by 93 percent and dramatically improving operational efficiency. In 2000, he accepted Mayor Giuliani's appointment as New York City's 40th police commissioner. He coordinated the rescue efforts at ground zero after the 9/11 attack. Mr. Kerik ends his tenure of this $3.2 billion, 55,000-employee organization with crime down another 12 percent since his arrival and officer morale and police/community relations at an all-time high.

  • Speaker

    Marc Mauer

    Assistant director of the Sentencing Project

    Marc Mauer, assistant director of The Sentencing Project, has directed programs on criminal justice reform for 25 years. He is the author of some of the most widely cited reports in the field of criminal justice, including Young Black Men and the Criminal Justice System and the Americans Behind Bars series. His 1995 report on racial disparity and the criminal justice system led the New York Times to editorialize that the report "should set off alarm bells from the White House to city halls and help reverse the notion that we can incarcerate our way out of fundamental social problems." He has also served as a consultant to the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National Institute of Corrections and is a member of the American Bar Association's Committee on Race and the Criminal Justice System.

  • Speaker

    Craig Haney

    Author of Limits to Prison Pain

    Mr. Haney received his Ph.D. and J.D. degrees from Stanford University in 1978. One of the principal researchers on the highly publicized "Stanford Prison Experiment" in 1971, he has been studying the psychological effects of living and working in actual prison environments since then. His work has taken him to dozens of maximum security prisons across the United States and in several different countries where he has evaluated conditions of confinement and interviewed prisoners about the mental health consequences of incarceration. His scholarly writing and empirical research have addressed a wide range of crime and punishment-related topics, including the background or risk factors associated with serious delinquent and criminal behavior, psychological mechanisms by which prisoners adjust to incarceration, and the adverse effects of prolonged imprisonment, especially under severe conditions of confinement. Mr. Haney has published widely on prison-related topics in a variety of scholarly journals. His book, Limits to Prison Pain, will be published in 2005. He has served as a consultant to various governmental agencies. Mr. Haney's research, writing, and testimony have been cited in many judicial opinions that address the psychological consequences of incarceration and capital jury decision making.

  • Speaker

    Barry McCaffrey

    Professor of International Security Studies at the United States Military Academy

    General Barry R. McCaffrey is the Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies at the United States Military Academy. He is also President of his own consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia. He serves as a national security and terrorism analyst for NBC News and also writes a regularly scheduled commentary on national security issues for Armed Forces Journal. General McCaffrey was the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Clinton and served as a member of the President's Cabinet and the National Security Council for drug-related issues. He continues to remain engaged in national security issues.

  • Speaker

    Charlie Rose

    Emmy award-winning host of PBS television’s Charlie Rose

    One of the most trusted and respected journalists on television today, Charlie Rose is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been praised as "one of America's premier interviewers." He is the host of Charlie Rose, the nightly PBS program that engages America's best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists, and other newsmakers. Guests on the show include major international political figures and a mixture of renowned personalities from literature, theater, film, dance, fashion, sports, science, medicine, and business. Mr. Rose graduated from Duke University with an AB degree in history and a JD from the School of Law. He is the recipient of the George Peabody Broadcasting Award; the Emmy Award; the CableACE Award; and the Futrell Award, an award given to Duke University alumni who have demonstrated excellence in communications.

  • Speaker

    Thomas Siebel

    Founder and chairman of the board of Siebel Systems

    Thomas Siebel is the chairman of First Virtual Group, a diversified holding company with interests in commercial real estate, agribusiness, global investment management, and philanthropy.

    Mr. Siebel was the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Siebel Systems, one of the world's leading software companies, which merged with Oracle Corporation in January 2006. Founded in 1993, Siebel Systems rapidly became a global leader in application software with more than 8,000 employees in 32 countries, over 4,500 corporate customers, and annual revenue in excess of $2 billion.

    Before founding Siebel Systems, Mr. Siebel served as chief executive officer of Gain Technology, a multimedia software company that merged with Sybase in December 1992. From 1984 through 1990, he was an executive at Oracle Corp., where he held a number of senior management positions.

    Mr. Siebel serves on the board of advisors for the Stanford University College of Engineering, the University of Illinois College of Engineering, and the University of California at Berkeley College of Engineering. He is a director of the University of Illinois Foundation, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Mr. Siebel is the founder and chairman of the Meth Project Foundation and chairman of the Siebel Foundation.

    He is a frequent industry spokesman and the author of three books: Taking Care of eBusiness and Cyber Rules, published by Doubleday, and Virtual Selling, published by The Free Press.

    In 2002, the Business Executives for National Security presented Mr. Siebel with the David Packard Award for his achievements as a technology entrepreneur and his contributions to national security. In 2000 and 2001, he was recognized by BusinessWeek as one of the Top 25 Managers in the World.

    In 1999, 2000, and 2001, Fortune magazine recognized Siebel Systems as the fastest, third fastest, and second fastest growing company in the United States, respectively. Call Center Magazine inducted him to its Hall of Fame in 2000 in recognition for contributions to the business and technology of customer service.

    Mr. Siebel is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History, an M.B.A., a Master of Science in Computer Science, and a Ph.D. in Engineering (Hon.).

    The Siebel Foundation, founded in 1996, is active in the support of education, health, drug prevention, wildlife habitat preservation, conservation, and support for the homeless. The Siebel Foundation created the Siebel Scholars Foundation, the Dearborn Scholars Fund in Montana, and the Meth Project Foundation. The Siebel Scholars Foundation endows scholarship funds at eight leaning universities for graduate students in computer science and business who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and leadership.

    Honors and Awards

    Lincoln Academy Laureate, The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, 2008
    Ph.D. (Hon) Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006
    White House Commendation, Most Influential Drug Program - Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2006
    Leadership Award - Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2006
    Lewis & Clark Pioneers in Industry Award - University of Montana, 2006
    One of the 50 Best Companies to Work for in Silicon Valley - San Jose Magazine, 2004
    Thomas M. Siebel, Master Entrepreneur of the Year - Ernst & Young, 2003
    Entrepreneurial Company of the Year - Harvard Business School, 2003
    Hall of Fame - CRM Magazine, 2003
    David Packard Award - Business Executives for National Security, 2002
    CEO of the Year - IndustryWeek, 2002
    Top 25 Executives - Readers' Choice - Computer Reseller News, 2002
    Top 25 Managers in Global Business - BusinessWeek, 1999 to 2002
    Top 25 Executives - Computer Reseller News, 2001
    University of Illinois Presidential Award and Medallion, 2001
    IT 100 List of Top-Performing Companies in High Tech - BusinessWeek, 2001
    Second Fastest Growing Company in America - Fortune, 2000
    Top 10 CEOs of 2000 - Investor's Business Daily, 2000
    Hall of Fame: in Recognition of Contributions to the Business and Technology of Customer Service - Call Center Magazine, 2000
    The World's Most Influential Software Company - BusinessWeek, 2000
    Third Fastest Growing Company in America - Fortune, 2000
    The Most Influential Company in IT - Intelligent Enterprise, 2000
    Fastest Growing Technology Company - Deloitte & Touche, 1999
    Fastest Growing Company in America - Fortune, 1999

    Publications

    Virtual Selling, Free Press, 1996
    Cyber Rules, Doubleday, 1999
    Taking Care of eBusiness, Doubleday, 2001

  • Speaker

    Nadine Strossen

    Professor of law, New York Law School; president, American Civil Liberties Union

    Nadine Strossen, professor of law at New York Law School, has written, lectured, and practiced extensively in the areas of constitutional law, civil liberties, and international human rights. Since 1991, she has served as president of the American Civil Liberties Union, the first woman to head the nation's largest and oldest civil liberties organization. (Because the ACLU presidency is a nonpaid volunteer post, Ms. Strossen continues in her faculty position as well.) Ms. Stossen comments frequently on legal issues in the national media, having appeared on virtually every national news program. She was a regular guest on ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher and has been a monthly columnist for two Webzines and a weekly commentator on the Talk America Radio Network.

    The National Law Journal has twice named Ms. Strossen one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America. Her writings have been published in many scholarly and general interest publications.

Schedule

Friday, October 8

  • 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm

    Welcome Reception

    University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Thomas M.Siebel Center for Computer Science

Saturday, October 9

  • 7:30 am – 9:00 am

    Breakfast

    University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Thomas M.Siebel Center for Computer Science, Atrium

  • 9:00 am – 9:30 am

    Welcome Address David Daniel, Dean, College of Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

    University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Thomas M.Siebel Center for Computer Science, Auditorium

  • 9:30 am – 12:00 pm

    Justice In America, Part I: Current Trends in the U.S. Prison A distinguished panel presents the demographic characteristics of the current record prison population of more than 2 million and explores the lives behind the numbers, along with such questions as: Who are these people behind bars? How did they come to be incarcerated? Where do they come from, how did they get there, and what can we learn from them? Also, if crime rates are down, why are prison populations increasing? Panelists: • General Barry R. McCaffrey, Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies at the United States Military Academy • Mark Mauer, Assistant Director of The Sentencing Project and author of Race to Incarcerate • Bernard Kerik, 40th Commissioner of the New York City Police Department • Bill Fraser, 36th Commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections Moderator: Charlie Rose, Emmy award-winning host of Charlie Rose and 60 Minutes II

    University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Thomas M.Siebel Center for Computer Science, Auditorium

  • 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

    Lunch

    University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Thomas M.Siebel Center for Computer Science, Atrium

  • 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm

    Justice in America, Part II: Is Punishment Too Often Cruel and Unusual? A panel of experts takes an inside look at U.S. prisons, including how improper processing, lack of human interaction, infectious diseases, official corruption, brutality by guards and other prisoners, sexual deviancy, and other problems promote horrific situations at some U.S. prisons, making the punishment sometimes worse than the crime. Panelists: • Nadine Strossen, President of the American Civil Liberties Union and Professor of Law at New York Law School • Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Executive Director of the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted • Ron Angelone, CEO, Correctional Solutions Incorporated • Craig Haney, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, and researcher on the Stanford Prison Experiment • Alan Elsner, National Correspondent for Reuters News Service and author of Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America’s Prisons Moderator: Charlie Rose, Emmy award-winning host of Charlie Rose and 60 Minutes II

    University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign Thomas M.Siebel Center for Computer Science, Auditorium

  • 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

    Cocktail Reception and Gala Dinner

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Grainger Engineering Library

Sunday, October 10

  • 8:00 am – 10:00 am

    Closing Breakfast

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science

Venues