Peer Mentorship in the Legal System

In this episode of Forensic Briefs, Drs. Michelle Guyton and Alexander Millkey speak with Andi Brierley, a former prisoner turned academic and youth justice leader. Brierley discusses his lived experience within the criminal justice system and how it shaped his work on desistance, peer mentorship, and “lived experience professionals.” He explores the tensions between experiential and academic knowledge, the value of relational credibility, and the importance of matching mentors to mentees to meaningfully support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending.