SMU’s Delta Gamma to host Orange Is The New Black author Piper Kerman for discussion on criminal justice reform

DALLAS (SMU) – A hit Netflix TV show wasn’t Piper Kerman’s goal when she wrote Orange is the New Black, a memoir about her 13 months in a Federal Corrections Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, but it’s given her a platform to share her original message: Criminal justice reform needs to happen.

Later this month, Kerman will bring that message to SMU when she participates in the Delta Gamma Lectureship in Values and Ethics, hosted by SMU’s Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility at 7 p.m., Sept. 13, in SMU’s McFarlin Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public.

“One of the great debates of this era is the conflict over whether the purpose of prison is to rehabilitate prisoners for re-entry into society or to punish offenders for crimes committed,” says Rita Kirk, Maguire Center director. “Kerman brings a unique perspective to this debate that’s well worth hearing.”

Kerman is the recipient of Harvard's Humanist Heroine Award (2015), as well as the Constitutional Commentary Award from The Constitution Project (2014) and John Jay College's Justice Trailblazer Award (2014).

A Q&A, book signing and “meet-and-greet” will follow Kerman’s lecture. Books will be available for purchase on-site.