PAROLE TO BE EXPLORED DURING PANEL DISCUSSION AT YORK UNIVERSITY'S OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL <p>

PAROLE TO BE EXPLORED DURING PANEL DISCUSSION AT YORK UNIVERSITY'S OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL

TORONTO, October 28, 1996 -- A politician, a parolee, and an advocate for the abolition of prisons will share their divergent views on parole -- who gets it and when --during a panel discussion at York University on Wednesday, Oct. 30 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

The discussion, called "Parole: Three Perspectives on Change," will be held in the Moot Court Room, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. It will feature the following speakers:

John Nunziata, an independent MP (formerly the Liberal MP) for the federal riding of York South-Weston. He earned a law degree from York University's Osgoode Hall Law School and established a law firm in April 1992. Nunziata's political career includes serving as an alderman for the City of York before being elected to the House of Commons in 1984. He served as Official Opposition Critic for the Solicitor General from 1984 to 1992. Nunziata has introduced two private member's bills advocating stricter parole laws;

Julius Melnitzer, an ex-lawyer who is now on parole after being convicted of fraud and forgery. He spent two-and-a-half years in prison and was paroled in February 1995. He is now a prisoners' rights activist and freelance journalist who writes for various publications, including The Law Times. Prior to his conviction, Melnitzer worked as a lawyer for 20 years and authored a number of legal texts, as well as serving as one of the provincial directors for the Criminal Lawyers Association of Ontario.

Ruth Morris, a Quaker, social activist, and former York University sociology instructor, is an advocate of abolishing prisons altogether in favour of alternatives to prisons. Morris favours solutions which offer an opportunity for victim-offender reconciliation, through a concept called transformative justice. She founded two half-way houses and a drop-in centre for street people. Morris has written six books, including Crumbling Walls: Why Prisons Fail; Penal Abolition: The Practical Choice; Street People Speak; and Christian Faith in Action.

Osgoode Hall Law School professor Dianne Martin will moderate the panel discussion, which will be followed by a question and answer period.

The event has been organized by the John White Society, a student organization at York's Osgoode Hall Law School. The society (named after Upper Canada's first attorney general) has no political, national, or religious affiliations. It is made up of three Osgoode Hall Law School students responsible for arranging guest speakers who are prominent in Canadian or international affairs. The committee members are appointed by the Legal and Literary Society and the student council at Osgoode Hall Law School.

York University, the third largest university in Canada, is nationally and internationally respected for its innovative research and teaching. With its combination of dedicated and talented faculty, bright and ambitious students, dynamic curriculum and modern campus in the heart of one of North America's most influential urban centres, York University is setting the modern standard in academic excellence.

York University is located at 4700 Keele Street (at Steeles Ave.) in North York.

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For more information, call:

Mary Ann Horgan
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086

Lisa Stead
Committee Member
The John White Society
Osgoode Hall Law School
York University
(416) 736-5027
YU/052/96

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