Two Minnesota Inmates Just Made History by Graduating From Law School
It's not every day you hear about someone earning a law degree while serving time in prison. In fact, it had never happened before.
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On Monday, June 8, a pair of Minnesota inmates made history after becoming the first incarcerated students in the United States to earn law degrees from an American Bar Association-accredited law school while still behind bars.
Maureen Onyelobi and Jeffery Young recently graduated from Mitchell Hamline School of Law while serving their sentences at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee.
In a press release, Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said the milestone wouldn't have happened without the collaboration between educators, corrections staff, mentors, and outside organizations that helped support the students along the way.
"The commitment, hard work, and success of Ms. Onyelobi and Mr. Young remind us that there are talented, dedicated students in our correctional facilities who are eager to learn, grow, and contribute," Schnell said.
He added that the graduates are an example of the impact education can have during incarceration and said he expects both to use their legal training "to advance a common good."
For Young, earning the degree was about finally being given an opportunity that hadn't existed before.
"These three entities, Mitchell Hamline, DOC, and American Bar Association leadership, had the courage, the wisdom, and the vision to do what gatekeepers before them refused to do," Young said. "They saw worth and value where others were blinded."
Onyelobi says graduation is the start of a new chapter as she prepares to take the bar exam and pursue a career advocating for change.
"Today, I can confidently say I got my fearlessness back. It has been fully restored," she said. "This journey has not been easy, but I had a lot of help along the way."
Officials say they hope the program serves as a model that creates opportunities for future incarcerated students interested in entering the legal profession.
"This is structural transformation," Mitchell Hamline law professor Jim Hilbert said. "Educators will see with new eyes who belongs in law school."
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Gallery Credit: Samm Adams