Formerly Incarcerated Wisconsin Instructor Helps Reshape Criminal Justice Education

Date:  03-01-2026 Instructor explains how students are often taught to understand what the law says on paper but lack exposure to its real-world impacts

From WXPR: A new class at the University of Wisconsin Law School aims to fill gaps in traditional legal training by letting students learn from a formerly incarcerated professor. The class, called Criminal Justice System: A Lived Experience Perspective, aims to provide students with a real image of incarceration, from arrest to reentry. Dant’e Cottingham is a co-instructor who served substantial time in Wisconsin’s prison system. He's now a reentry and outreach specialist for the Remington Center at the Law School. He said students are often taught to understand what the law says on paper but lack exposure to its real-world impacts. Continue reading >>>