Handbook on Lived Experience in the Justice System

Christopher P. Dum is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Kent State University. He is the author of the book, Exiled in America: Life on the Margins in a Residential Motel, published by Columbia University Press. His research examines issues around prison, reentry, and public opinion, and has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Ohio Attorney General. Dr. Dum has appeared on NPR's Marketplace, as well as the Doc Project on CBC. In 2016, he co-founded the ID13 Prison Literacy Project, which works to amplify the voices of incarcerated writers.Jamie J. Fader is a Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Temple University. She is the author of On Shifting Ground: Constructing Masculinity on the Margins (Univ. of California Press, 2024) and Falling Back: Incarceration and Transitions to Adulthood among Urban Youth (Rutgers University Press, 2013), which won the 2016 Hindelang Award for best book in the field. Dr. Fader's research interests include the lived experiences of members of vulnerable groups in the criminal legal system, particularly adolescents and young adults. She is the founder of the Division of Qualitative Research of the American Society of Criminology.Thomas P. LeBel, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. Dr. LeBel has lived experience with the criminal legal system and is the author or co-author of numerous publications about prisoner reintegration, desistance from crime, the stigma of incarceration, and incarcerated women with substance use disorders. Kevin A. Wright is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and is the Director of the Center for Correctional Solutions at Arizona State University. His work focuses on enhancing the lives of people living and working in the correctional system through research, education, and community engagement. He is co-author of Imprisoned Minds: Lost Boys, Trapped Men, and Solutions from Within the Prison (Rutgers University Press, 2025), lead-authored by a man incarcerated for life.