Beyond the Classroom: Murphy Students Explore the Realities of the Criminal Justice System
For the third year in a row, students in Professor Carla Laroche’s undergraduate course, PECN-4970: Prison Industrial Complex, were guided through the Orleans Criminal District Court by Robert Jones, Director of Community Outreach at the Orleans Public Defenders Office. During the visit, students observed court proceedings, met with prosecutors and defense attorneys, and conversed with judges.
The experience is a centerpiece of the semester. Earlier in the term, Mr. Jones served as a guest speaker in the classroom, where students learned about his path. Robert was wrongly convicted of a murder, sentenced to life without parole, and spent over twenty years in Angola. During that time, he became an inmate substitute counsel and helped many men with their court cases before he was eventually exonerated and released. Today, Robert is also an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and author.
The students memorialized the experience with photos capturing a group session with a presiding judge and snapshots from Mr. Jones’s classroom lecture.
To conclude the unit, students write a short memo describing their experience, what surprised them, and how the visit relates to the course. The class will complete an in-class debrief towards the end of the semester to discuss these firsthand observations of the legal system.
A cornerstone of the PECN-4970 curriculum, this annual visit supports The Murphy Institute’s mission to provide undergraduates with a deep, interdisciplinary understanding of the institutional structures that shape our world. By stepping out of the classroom and into the courtrooms and chambers of the Criminal District Court, students move beyond abstract theory to confront the real-world complexities and human consequences of the legal system. Through their post-visit memos and final debriefs, students synthesize these firsthand observations with their studies in political economy, an experience that will prepare them to be more informed and engaged citizens, regardless of their career path after they leave Tulane.
