YDPLaw2

Internship Highlights

Rebecca Bloch is the managing attorney for the Law Office of Rebecca Bloch.

Ms. Bloch has worked in the legal field since 2007 as a public defender in Colorado and the District of Columbia. Ms. Bloch has defended the rights of individuals accused of virtually every type of crime, from petty offenses to the most serious of felonies.

Currently, Ms. Bloch is drafting briefs on behalf of individuals serving prison sentences who are seeking IRAA release due to outstanding behavior, rehabilitation, and other factors under D.C. Code § 24-403.03.

Momolu Stewart, a returning citizen who filed a successful IRAA motion, is an advocate for the use of IRAA. Mr. Stewart shared his emotional story about his return to society from a juvenile life sentence with me and my peers.

Mr. Stewart described his difficult experience of being behind bars for 23 years. He spent those years studying, mentoring others, and trying to improve himself as best he could. He showed us his dedication to helping others, music, and art during his incarceration and reentry, and his rehabilitation was featured in The Justice Project, a documentary highlighting injustice and mass incarceration with Kim Kardashian.

Through Mr. Stewart’s story, I saw the importance of reevaluating long prison sentences given to people at a young age and better understood the work that I am doing for the client.

Mr. James Zeigler, the founder and executive director of the Second Look Project, has dedicated his work to helping provide representation for those eligible for resentencing under the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act.

Mr. Zeigler walked me and my fellow interns through the history of sentencing reduction in the District of Columbia and gave advice to me regarding the writing process of IRAA motions.

I learned more about the process of writing an IRAA motion and had the opportunity to ask thoughtful questions regarding the different parts of the IRAA statute in DC to write a comprehensive briefing.

Julia Mascioli, the Deputy Director at Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, a DC-based nonprofit that uses literature and creative writing to build community with incarcerated youth and adults, and Gene Downing, one of the First IRRA recipients and Free Minds’ Congressman John Lewis Fellow, spoke with us about how Free Minds has an impact on currently incarceration and returning citizens.

I learned about the importance of support systems during the IRAA process and how Free Minds uses writing and book clubs as networks for people during and after incarceration.

Ms. Mascioli and Mr. Downing have created creative solutions to the issues that have ramifications of them and their communities which taught me to seek remedies for problems I identify.

Marc Howard is the founding director of the Prison and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University. Founded in 2016, the Prison and Justice Initiative has four programs that tackle criminal legal reform by focusing on incarceration and recidivism. Momolou Stewart was a part of one of these programs.

I learned about Dr. Howard’s passion for criminal legal reform and what inspired his work. Dr. Howard spoke with the group about the prison industrial complex and the impact private prisons have on mass incarceration.

I also learned that he truly believes that my generation is going to change the criminal legal system for the better.