Podcast: College degrees for incarcerated folks

LA Times
·1 min read
LANCASTER, CA - OCTOBER 05: Allen Burnett, 48, left, who had been serving a life sentence for a crime he committed when he was 18 has already crossed the graduation stage at Cal State Los Angeles over the summer, where he graduated Magma Cum Laude more than a year after his release from prison last June, encourages graduates of Cal State LA's Prison B.A. Program before their ceremony inside the California State Prison in Lancaster. A ceremony followed the graduation events for classmates whose sentences were commuted. The program is the first of its kind in California. California State Prison on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021 in Lancaster, CA. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times).
Allen Burnett, 48, left, who was sentenced to life in prison for a crime he committed when he was 18, congratulates graduates of Cal State L.A.'s Prison B.A. Program before their ceremony inside the California State Prison in Lancaster. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

For more than a century, California's approach to incarcerating people has gone mostly like this: Incarcerate them. But now, there’s a program offered by the Cal State University system that helps incarcerated folks not only develop skills but reimagine themselves — as people who could have lives as scholars after serving long prison terms.

Today, we’re going to talk about this new educational opportunity for those on the inside with L.A. Times education reporter Colleen Shalby.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guests: L.A. Times education reporter Colleen Shalby

More reading:

They were supposed to die in prison. Instead, they earned freedom as college graduates

Editorial: For former prisoners to have a shot at a normal life, we need successful reentry programs

Apodaca: UC Irvine law professor sees college degrees as a way to reduce recidivism

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.