Criminology Professor Faith Lutze discusses the evolving American prison at 4:30 p.m. Tues. Sept. 1 WSU Common Reading event

PULLMAN, Wash.—What’s good and bad about how we use prisons to achieve criminal justice goals?

Washington State University Professor Faith Lutze will discuss “The Evolving American Prison: Executing the Ideals of Justice, Mercy, and Redemption” at a free public lecture 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, in room 203 of the Smith Center for Undergraduate Education.

The presentation is hosted by the Common Reading Program, part of WSU Undergraduate Education. Pullman first-year and other students are using the book Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson, as their common text in classes and academic discussions across many disciplines this year.

Lutze is a professor in the WSU Dept. of Criminal Justice and Criminology, and taught in the Dept. of Women Studies. Her book, The Professional Lives of Community Corrections Officers: The Invisible Side of Reentry, was published in 2014 by Sage Publications. Her Ph.D. in administration of justice is from The Pennsylvania State University. She came to WSU in 1995.

This is the Common Reading Program’s ninth year. The program, with interdisciplinary campus partners, organizes a robust series of events, expert lectures, film showings, and more that addresses topics raised in the book. It also sponsors the annual Common Reading Invited Lecture, which will bring Stevenson to campus Dec. 1 for a public lecture at Beasley Coliseum.

MEDIA: Karen Weathermon, Common Reading Program co-director, WSU Undergraduate Education, 509-335-5448, kweathermon@wsu.edu

Beverly Makhani, communications and marketing director, WSU Undergraduate Education, 509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu