Laura Rovner
Professor of Law | Civil Rights & Mental Health Advocate
About
Laura Rovner is a Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she directs the civil rights clinic. Rovner's career has focused on advocating for the rights of marginalized populations, particularly those with mental illness.
She has authored numerous scholarly articles on issues of civil rights, disability law, and mental health policy. Rovner's work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, and other national media.
Her keynotes draw on her expertise to challenge audiences to rethink assumptions about mental health and push for greater equity and inclusion.
Talks1
What happens to people in solitary confinement
Imagine living with no significant human contact for years, even decades, in a cell the size of a small bathroom. This is the reality for those in long-term solitary confinement, a form of imprisonment regularly imposed in US prisons. In this eye-opening talk, civil rights lawyer Laura Rovner takes us to ADX, the US federal government's only supermax prison, and describes the dehumanizing effects of long-term solitude on the mind, personality and sense of self. What emerges is an urgent case for abolishing solitary confinement -- and evidence for how our tax dollars, public safety and values are implicated in it. "Prisons are administered in our name and on our behalf," she says. "We have an obligation to bear witness."
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