Katie-Marie McNeill (History) – Prisoner Aid Beyond Borders: A Transnational History of Prisoner Aid Societies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, 1930-1970

The mid-twentieth century saw an increase in the volume and variety of activities that prisoner aid societies in each of the four areas of study conducted both inside and outside of prisons. Treated together, the histories of prisoner aid societies in the key commonwealth nations of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, and in the close neighbour of the United States offer an opportunity to explore how citizens engaged with justice systems, the role that volunteers played in the rehabilitation of prisoners, and how prisoner aid societies advocated for change in all levels of their respective legal systems. For upcoming interviews check out the Grad Chat webpage on Queen’s University School of Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs website – https://www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc/research/share/grad-chat