nothin She Sought The Law — & She Won | New Haven Independent

She Sought The Law — & She Won

Markeshia Ricks Photo

Mary Kaye Holmes at Monday’s Van Jones-led forum.

Mary Kaye Holmes finally got to Quinnipiac University Monday, but not as a law school student as she had once hoped.

She came as a guest speaker to tell how she went from incarceration to New York Law School — and how Connecticut can help other second chancers” as it weighs the next steps in criminal justice reform.

Holmes, and others like her from around Connecticut, got to share their stories Monday with CNN political contributor Van Jones, who stopped by Quinnipiac for A Discussion on Criminal Justice Reform.”

Jones is the CEO of the newly formed REFORM Alliance, an organization co-founded by acclaimed hip-hop artist Meek Mill and backed by musical heavyweights like Shawn Jay‑Z” Carter. He said the stories he heard here Monday offered more powerful testimony than what he heard during federal-level hearings on prison reform.

It’s like kindergarten versus Ph.D,” the Yale Law grad said from the head of a conference room table surrounded by people touched by the long shadow of incarceration.

She Didn’t Give Up

Van Jones at Monday’s forum.

Holmes probably had a near storybook second chance, re-entry experience. She said when she got out of prison she was able to access programs that provided housing support, free health care services, including mental health care. She also was able to find work within two weeks of her release from prison and eventually completed her undergraduate degree.

Then she decided she wanted to go to law school. That’s when she hit a brick wall.

She applied to several law schools, including Quinnipiac University’s. She got in. One school even offered her $90,000 in scholarships. But then they learned about her criminal history, which she acknowledged as lengthy.” All the schools rescinded their scholarship money and the offers for admission.

But Holmes didn’t give up.

She applied and was accepted to New York Law School. The school gave her a scholarship and made her a student ambassador. Holmes said she expects to graduate in May; she wants to be a public defender.

I know what it looks like to be discriminated against because of my criminal record,” she said.

I know y’all feel bad,” Jones joked with the Quinnipiac University faculty and staff in the room. She put Quinnipiac on blast!”

At Stake At The Capitol

McGee.

The Connecticut General Assembly is considering a handful of bills that would help people rebuild their lives after leaving prison, including proposals that would restore voting privileges to people on parole and allow those who are incarcerated to retain their voting rights.

A bill sponsored by State Rep. Robyn Porter, who represents New Haven and Hamden, would prohibit discrimination based on criminal history. A bill sponsored by State Rep. Brandon Mcgee, who represents Hartford and Windsor, would seal criminal records for after seven years for any misdemeanor and certain felonies.

Johnson has found help through EMERGE Connecticut.

Roger Johnson, who did 20 years in prison, said all of those bills would help him. He’s been out of prison for a decade. He still faces challenges getting housing and finding good stable jobs, he said.

We’re faced with a lot of situations where we can’t go to a loved one’s house because we’re on parole,” he said. We can’t stay with our girlfriends. We get in situations where we have to sneak to live with our loved ones and if we get caught, they could potentially get kicked out.”

Johnson said he got the opportunity to work with the re-entry nonprofit EMERGE Connecticut, which he said has helped him become computer literate and to go back to school. But he said it continues to be a struggle.

Housing and employment is the big obstacle for a lot of brothers coming out,” he said. I hope it will change soon.”

Jones with Project Longevity’s Brent Peterkin.

Brent Peterkin, Project Longevity’s statewide coordinating director, helped organize Monday’s event along with #Cut50 national organizer Louis Reed. He called Monday’s event, which also included lunch with Gov. Ned Lamont, a chance to deepen the thinking of anyone involved with advocacy and reform.”

Van Jones often talks about how the incarceration of his cousins drove him to want to pursue studying the law. He said he often leaves such discussions angry and feeling helpless: From the time that he became a lawyer to his time working in the Obama administration, he hasn’t seen much progress.

There’s always this sense of failing and letting my community down,” he said. We talk big and we don’t deliver.”

Jones receives a key and a proclamation from Robert Reed, City of New Haven director of legislative affairs.

He encouraged those who need reform most to keep advocating for policies that might come from any such conversations.

We will be lost in the sauce, wasting a bunch of time and money if you guys and women are not at the center of what we’re doing,” he said. Don’t weary of talking.”

You might feel like you’ve wasted your time talk to other people,” he added. But you’re not wasting time talking to me. This won’t be the first or last time you see Van Jones.”

New Havener Richard Watkins, an EMERGE Connecticut participant, said after the event that he hopes that such conversations with people who have a platform like Jones’ can amplify the conversation.

Watkins talked with Jones about the need to understand the mental health ramifications of incarceration and to acknowledge that some people might be violating the terms of their parole and probation because of untreated mental health issues. Watkins was diagnosed with anxiety after he got out of prison. He said EMERGE has helped him with that. He wants that kind of assistance available for others.

I’m hoping these types of forums … can take what we’ve been through and amplify it,” he said. Talking through what we’ve been through is therapeutic. But the other side is the need for assistance, getting help with what we’re going through, not just somebody hearing us.”

Roger Johnson echoed Watkins’ thought.

This whole platform,” he said, was humbling.”

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