Jamie Fellner specializes in US criminal justice issues, including prison conditions, the incarceration of the mentally ill, sentencing, the death penalty and drug law enforcement. From 2001 to 2007, she was the first director of Human Rights Watch's US program, supervising research and advocacy on US counterterrorism policies, immigration, and the criminal justice system. Previous positions with Human Rights Watch include working as Associate Counsel and as a researcher and advocate for the Americas division. In addition, Fellner has worked for several human rights and social justice organizations and as a litigator. She earned a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley and completed doctoral studies in Latin American History at Stanford University. Fellner speaks Spanish.

Human Rights Watch Reports

Decades of Disparity: Drug Arrests and Race in the United States (March 2, 2009)

Targeting Blacks: Drug Law Enforcement and Race in the United States (May 4, 2008)

Cruel and Degrading: The Use of Dogs for Cell Extractions in US Prisons (October 10, 2006)

So Long as They Die: Lethal Injections in the United States (April 24, 2006)

Ill-Equipped: US Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness (October 22, 2003)

Articles

"Opening California cell doors can free up needed budget money," Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2009

"Jails Must Take Measures to Stop Prisoner Sex," Houston Chronicle, June 24, 2009

"Race, Drugs, and Law Enforcement in the United States," Stanford Law Review, June 2009

"A Human Rights Perspective on Segregating the Mentally Ill," Correctional Mental Health Report, May/June 2009

"In Anti-Drug Policy, Race Remains," The Huffington Post, March 5, 2009

"Onward and Upward - But Not in a Good Way," The Huffington Post, June 20, 2008