About

Dr. Makeela J. Wells joined the faculty at Tennessee Technological University in 2018 after receiving her Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology at Mississippi State University. Her research focuses on issues related to drug sentencing, prisoner reentry, criminal justice policy, and child maltreatment in the Deep South. Dr. Wells’ previous research has examined which peer-reviewed journal articles are cited more frequently in criminology and criminal justice journals and whether military service makes the experience of prison less painful. Additionally, she has published work in the  Journal of Criminal Justice Education and Criminal Justice Policy Review.

Current projects focus on the impact of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 on sentencing decisions for federal crack and powder cocaine offenders, differential sentencing decisions for federal cocaine and methamphetamine offenders, and the influence of case and contextual factors on the substantiation of child maltreatment cases in the Deep South.

Dr. Wells currently teaches Youth and Society, Victimology, Probation and Parole, and special topics course relating to criminal justice and criminology.