Criminology and Criminal Justice Association hosts talks on life after incarceration

Wayne State's Criminology and Criminal Justice Association (CCJA) kicked off this fall semester with successful back-to-back events!

A second chance

Behind the Bars guest speaker Lorenzo Harrell, a re-entry specialist with the State Appellate Defender’s Office (SADO), talked about his journey from incarceration to life after release.

Harrell discussed first becoming part of the criminal justice system at nine years old, to eventually being sentenced to life without parole at 17. After serving 26 years in prison, Lorenzo’s case was reviewed as part of the juvenile lifer Supreme Court rulings on minors automatically sentenced to life without parole and he was released.

In his position at SADO, he actively advocates for Second Look legislation to help others that were similarly sentenced.

Miranda Nedd, a first-year criminology and criminal justice student, said, “It was a very special insight of exactly how the criminal justice system fails our youth. We as a community need to do better by our children and fight for them.”

Visiting incarcerated loved ones

CCJA partnered with the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) to host a book talk. Areesha Ahmed, a Biological Engineering student, was the interviewer.

The talk featured Reda A. Taleb discussing her new children’s book, “Noura’s First Visit: A Book to Help Youth Prepare for Visits with Incarcerated Loved Ones.”

Her book series aims to help children who are experiencing a parent or loved one in prison and to show them they are not alone. The books are a way for Reda to tell her own experience of having grown up with a father who was incarcerated. During the talk Reda emphasized that "everyone has something valuable to contribute” despite one's upbringing. She also shared from her first book, “Noura's Extraordinary Superpower.”

Both Lorenzo and Reda stressed the importance of healing and advocacy. Reda’s father and Lorenzo both experienced some of the negative sides of incarceration. Each talk was helpful for students to understand how the criminal justice system influences everyone and to think about how it can affect children or marginalized communities.