By Allison Brace 22
University of Dayton students in this spring’s Introduction to Criminal Justice course are learning first-hand about life on death row by speaking directly with inmates featured in the book
Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row by author Tessie Castillo.
Martha Hurley, professor and director of the Criminal Justice Studies program, partnered with Castillo to integrate this live component into her course. Although this was the pilot semester for the live discussions with inmates, it has been successful in the eyes of students.
“It has been really cool to hear all of their personal testimonies and their day-to-day life on death row,” said Morgan Ramsey, a first-year psychology major from Kansas City, Kansas.