Elizabeth Vartkessian and Khalilah Harris: THE DESERVING (Fundraiser Night for CLLCTIVEGIVE)

Elizabeth Vartkessian works with criminal defense teams as a mitigation specialist or “mercy worker.” Her job is not to prove defendants’ innocence, for they are often guilty, but rather to collect information that might make sense of their behavior. She spends hundreds of hours situating their crimes in context by investigating their histories and communities, talking to their parents, siblings, teachers, and neighbors.

She’ll discuss her new book, The Deserving, on the Ivy Patio with Dr. Khalilah M. Harris, Executive Director of the Public Justice Center, where we’ll consider the argument for true rehabilitation replacing retribution.

Founded in 1985, the Public Justice Center is a nonprofit civil rights law firm that uses legal tools to challenge poverty and racial inequity in Maryland and beyond. Read more at www.publicjustice.org.

Book purchases at this event raise funds for the Public Justice Center as part of CLLCTIVGIVE, an annual 24 hour period of community-powered giving in support of Black-led organizations across Greater Baltimore. More than a fundraising campaign, CLLCTIVGive is a movement to move resources, amplify the work and celebrate the organizations building what our communities need to thrive.