This year’s paper, “For we know not what we do. Reflections on punishment, community and forgiveness,” was delivered by Prof. Dr. Pieter De Witte. A prison chaplain and visiting professor at the Chair for Detention, Meaning, and Society at KU Leuven (Belgium). He organises and teaches service-learning courses in Belgian prisons and detention centres, bringing together university students and prison-based students to explore the meaning of punishment and detention.

It was a stimulating event as we considered the role of punishment and the place of prison in society. This is particularly timely as Irish prisons are deeply overcrowded, with almost 600 men and women sleeping on the floor each night. Over 300 psychiatric patients languish in prisons with no treatment. Yet, the Government’s solution is to build yet more prisons. It is appropriate to ask the question: how much punishment is enough in our society?

If you missed the Lecture this year, check out the video below!