Luci Harrell

A Georgia-born activist, artist, and writer, Luci Harrell comes to Inquest from the Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative (PAD) in Atlanta, where she’s spent the past year providing legal navigation and courtroom support.  Luci holds a B.A. in journalism from Georgia State University, a Master of Mass Communication from South Dakota State University, and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Community Advocacy from SUNY Empire State College.  A juris doctor candidate at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, Luci was likely the first person to attend law school while incarcerated in Georgia. She believes the work of abolishing criminal systems and restoring social equity requires those who have been criminalized, enslaved and/or exploited to enter and transform the legal profession.

One of Luci’s primary interests is improving access to quality higher education, which stems from her own struggles overcoming prison industry barriers and engaging academia as a field expert. Since 2019, she has conduced research on post incarceration syndrome in an effort to build community capacity for peer-based reentry support.  Currently the Program Development Fellow at Mourning Our Losses, Luci also serves on the board of directors at the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison and Igniting Hope Georgia, and promotes solidarity building through involvement with Georgia Freedom Letters, the Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM), the Justice Reform Partnership, and All of Us or None (Atlanta chapter). Luci is a student member of the National Justice Impact Bar Association, a 2021-2022 Pipeline to Practice Foundation Fellow, and a firm support of Unlock the Bar.