Overview

In this practicum, students will contribute to an analysis of the current state of human rights and the criminal justice system in one or more countries in the Americas, with particular attention to pretrial detention and prison conditions and overcrowding. For more than a decade, the IACHR has focused on the excessive use of pretrial detention as one of the most serious and widespread challenges faced by the vast majority of the States in the Americas. Students will research the complexities and deficiencies of pretrial detention policies, studying violations in due process and an array of associated environmental stresses. Detainees face lost income and forced separation from families and communities and they are often exposed to a climate of violence and corruption as well as unsanitary and inhumane prison conditions. Students work closely with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to understand the complexity of pretrial detention policies, the deficiencies of prison conditions, and to research options that support due process rights and the democratic rule of law.

Working independently and/or in teams, students will prepare short reports on violations as well as best practices across the region, with a focus on issues affecting persons deprived of liberty. The scope of students’ work product will expand as they acquire more expertise with international standards and transnational comparative tools in policy analysis.