America’s criminal justice system is broken.
While sweeping reform measures have been occurring across the country we still have mass incarceration. One NYU professor who was previously incarcerated is focused on understanding and improving a system of justice that he believes has become a failure.
The graduate-level course in forensic justice Professor Terrance Coffie teaches focuses on preparing students for criminal justice involvement and fighting for those who are wronged.
Coffie spent 19 years in the system before teaching students about the history of the criminal justice system, its impact on communities of color and its cost to the American people. He tries to inspire his students to want to make a difference.
He also teaches about the FIRST STEP Act, which argues that sentencing reform is the only way to truly address discriminatory practices within the criminal justice system. He also wants a closer look at services that are available to assist inmates once they were released.
With nearly 77 percent of people released rearrested within five years, the FIRST STEP Act would allocate $375 million in federal funding for job training and education programs in prisons which would help upon release.
It was inside Florida’s Marion Correctional Institution, serving a five-year sentence for possession with intent to sell, where Coffie received his GED. He had spent more than 19 years in the cycle of incarceration.
At 40, he enrolled in Bronx Community College, then was offered a scholarship to NYU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and then a masters.
He credits the transitional services and groups that were available to him for his success.
“The formerly incarcerated should have access to immediate employment opportunities, as well as educational and career training once they re-enter society,” Coffie says.
He wants states to develop and implement re-entry policies that reduce recidivism rates, promote public safety, and offer offenders opportunities and a second chance.
He eventually told his students he was a former inmate.
