Azizi recently won the gold medal for best student paper from the Wrongful Conviction Law Review.
Her paper, "Maintaining Innocence: The Prison Experiences of the Wrongfully Convicted.” The Wrongful Conviction Law Review, 2(1), 55–77., was selected by the Canadian-based law review’s editorial board of wrongful conviction scholars.
The WCLR is a non-profit, open access, peer-reviewed international journal focusing on wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice. While it is fundamentally a law review, it also accepts submissions from other disciplines (e.g. criminology, sociology, psychology, criminal justice etc.).
Azizi originally wrote the paper for the wrongful conviction course taught by Professors Mark Green and Stephen Bindman.
From her abstract:
Modern research has been diligent and successful in discovering what causes a wrongful conviction, and the long-term consequences. However, there is one area relatively untouched by research efforts-- the period between the conviction and the release, the period of incarceration itself. This paper looks at the incarceration experience from two lenses: (1) inmate and prison violence, and (2) mental health and segregation. It also considers the general prison experience for all incarcerated persons, and the distinct prison experiences of the wrongfully convicted as a result of maintaining their innocence. Because little research exists on the distinct experiences of wrongfully convicted persons in prison, this paper looks to interviews and other sources where wrongfully convicted persons discussed their prison experiences. These sources are few and far between, with many wrongfully convicted persons echoing the words of Thomas Sophonow (wrongfully convicted of the murder of a 16-year-old donut shop employee), “whatever happened in jail [is] nobody’s business.”
Said Azizi:
“I've also always been interested in prisons and the treatment of offenders. In learning about wrongful convictions, I noticed that much of the research is focused on what causes wrongful convictions, and what happens to individuals after they are released. There was very little information about the experiences of the wrongfully convicted while in prison. I think the paper grew out of my own curiosity to understand the prison experiences of the wrongfully convicted, and whether (and how) those experiences were unique from the average prison experience. “
Professor Green recalls Azizi’s willingness to offer her consistently thoughtful opinion during class (conducted via Zoom due to Covid) as well as the novel (and very personal) focus of her major paper and the fact that she undertook her own original research in order to support her thesis.
“We are thrilled that such a deserving student won this award for work she started in our class,” said Green.
Azizi previously completed an honours specialization in psychology and a major in history at Western University. Her academic interests include criminal law, the intersection of mental health within the criminal justice system, and the implementation of specialized courts and diversion programs. She will be articling for the Crown Attorney’s Office in York Region and “hopefully contribute to the development of more rehabilitative measures within our criminal justice system. “
When not studying, Esti is probably watching a reality tv show, or hunting for coffee at a local coffeeshop.