Professor Marjorie Cohn delivered two presentations at the National Lawyers Guild’s annual national convention in Chicago held on September 3-7, 2014.
On the panel titled “Pursuing Accountability and Reparations for Torture,” Professor Cohn explained the relationship between the torture conducted at Tamms Correctional Center under the direction of Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, torture in US Supermax prisons – such as cell extraction and solitary confinement, and the torture the US government conducted at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Professor Cohn drew on themes covered in her book, “The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse,” which was published in 2011 by NYU Press. Other panelists included a man who had been tortured in Chicago under orders from Jon Burge, and a man who had been tortured in Chile under Augusto Pinochet.
On the second panel, Professor Cohn discussed US treaty obligations, and pursuing justice at the International Criminal Court for Operation Protective Edge.
Professor Cohn testified twice before Congress about the Bush administration torture policy. Her monthly column, “Human Rights and Global Wrongs,” is published by Truthout.
