Alexes Harris is a professor of sociology at the University of Washington and is affiliated with the West Coast Poverty Center and Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. Her research interests include social stratification processes and racial and ethnic disparities, and how contact with varying institutions (educational, juvenile and criminal justice and economic) affects individuals’ life chances.

Her book A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions as Punishment for the Poor examines the sentencing of monetary sanctions such as fines, fees, and surcharges, to people convicted of felony offenses in Washington state.

Harris’ work has been published in a number of academic journals, including The American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Law and Society Review and Symbolic Interaction. She has testified before the Washington State legislature and Washington State Supreme Court about racial and ethnic inequalities in the criminal justice system and sentencing practices.

Expertise: Criminal justice processing and monetary sanctions, juvenile justice, inequality, race and ethnicity

Location: Seattle, Wash.

Phone: (206) 685-4763

Email: yharris@uw.edu, alexesharris@gmail.com

Twitter: @AlexesHarris

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