On November 4, 2021, Nancy Gertner participated in a webinar series called "What are Prisons For?" at the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College. Judge Gertner joined Renaldo Hudson of the Illinois Prison Project, Lee Kovarsky of University of Texas at Austin, and District Attorney for Philadelphia County Larry Krasner on a panel moderated by Stephen Handelman to discuss a future without mass incarceration.