E very episode of Criminal Justice Professor Dr. Alesa Liles’ new podcast, “Voices of the Returned: Life After Incarceration” features stories about the complexities of reintegration into society following lengthy prison terms told by the people who lived them.

They’re celebrating the launch of the podcast as part of Justice Week which will host events Tuesday – Friday dedicated to different aspects of the American justice system, including “How to Get into Law School” as well as an open discussion on homeless shelters and other human rights non-profits.

Dr. Liles is co-presenting an event with Dr. Stacy Moak from the University of Alabama at Birmingham titled “Re-Entry Simulation and Dialogue,” which will give participants a chance to experience what it’s like to try to navigate local county and city departments, church, the grocery store and other areas of everyday life as a formerly incarcerated individual. The event will also be recorded as part of the podcast. Both the event and the podcast are firsts for Georgia College.

Liles said that she launched the podcast along with three of her students after realizing the reason so many formerly incarcerated citizens face so many challenges with reintegration is because of the stigma that comes from being in prison.

“If you can hear people’s personal stories,” Liles said, “if you can hear who they are, that can change how you feel about them and how you might feel about other people as well. Roughly 90 – 95% of the prison population will be released at some point, so if we can’t find a way to connect with those people; if we can’t figure out how to accept people beyond one thing they did in their life, then that’s going to affect everyone, right?”

Charlie, the name of their first guest of the podcast, was convicted of murder in 1977 when he was 18 years old. After serving 43 years, he was released in 2021, at the age of 62, and has been working toward reconciling with a world he no longer recognizes.

Alexis Skowranek, a senior criminal justice major who is graduating in the spring and will begin law school in the fall, is one of the students who co-hosts the podcast with Liles. She said that one of the most surprising things about hearing Charlie’s story is how much has changed in the world since he was first incarcerated.

“We talked a lot about Walmart stories,” Skowranek said. “For instance, Charlie had never stepped foot in a Walmart before, and he was just in awe of how much things have changed.”

Each episode of the podcast will feature a different guest from around the Southeast region, talking about various challenges of reintegration. Some of those guests will be attending the Re-Entry Simulation and Dialogue on Thursday, April 21 and will be helping to work the stations that attendees can go to as they work their way through the simulation.

“The reentry simulation was actually developed by the Department of Justice,” Liles said.

During the simulation, participants will get cards telling them who they are and how much time they’ve been incarcerated, and what they have to do. Then they will be given a certain amount of time to achieve their task.

“You might need to figure out, ‘how am I going to get food? Do I even qualify for food stamps?’Or ‘how much money do I even have?’ and then we’re going to have an open dialogue afterward,” she said.

Liles has invited members from the Offender Alumni Association to help with the simulation as well.

Kaylie Kimsey, another graduate criminal justice student who will be getting her Master’s in May and also co-hosts the show, said that participating in the event is a great way to empathize with their fellow citizens in a unique and fun way.

“We know the statistics,” she said, “and obviously the statistics are out there, but nobody really cares about that. They want to learn by doing something.”

Both “Voices of the Returned” and the Re-Entry Simulation and Dialogue event are innovative ways that the Criminal Justice Department is finding ways of bringing experiential education to the community and to its students.