Bio

Leah Ouellet joins us after completing a PhD in Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Her research examines punishment, sentencing policy, and broader questions of penal reform and punitive ideas. Focusing particularly on life sentencing practices for youth, her work places a specific emphasis on evidence-based approaches to humane and effective justice policy. She was a National Institute of Justice graduate research fellow and has published in Criminology & Public Policy, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. Leah earned an MS in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Wayne State University and a BA from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

Publications

Ouellet, L., Brydon, D.M., Abrams, L.S., Ward, J.T., Jackson, D.B., Turner, R., Bennett, J.Z., Howard, R., & Xu, A. (2026). Understanding variation in juvenile life without parole legislation following Miller. Criminology & Public Policy, 25(1), 139-168. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.70011

Bennett, J.Z., Brydon, D.M., Ward, J.T., Jackson, D.B., Ouellet, L., Turner, R., & Abrams, L.S. (2024). In the wake of Miller and Montgomery: A national view of people sentenced to juvenile life without parole. Journal of Criminal Justice, 93, Article 102199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102199

Ouellet, L. & Wareham, J. (2023). Prosecutor decision-making following juvenile life without parole sentencing reform. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 21(4), 325-349. https://doi.org/10.1177/15412040231173345