MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A West Virginia University criminology course is taking crime and punishment beyond textbooks -- and into a real prison.
The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program meets weekly at the Pruntytown Correctional Center.
Professor Jim Nolan says students share perceptions and exchange ideas about how to improve the criminal justice system.
A former police officer, Nolan works with associate warden Sarah Trickett to choose inmates -- the so-called inside students -- who are often around college age.
All students get writing and reading assignments, including Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment."
Nolan says the program also encourages transparency at the prison.
Temple University created Inside-Out in 2003. Nolan brought it to WVU in 2006.
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