nothin From Second Chance To No Chance Connecticut? | New Haven Independent

From Second Chance To No Chance Connecticut?

Harry Droz Photo

Daee Muhammad McKnight and Scot X. Esdaile with Babz Rawls-Ivy and Jeff Grant (at center) of Criminal Justice Insider.

Daee Muhammad McKnight found his second chance while serving 17 years of a 25-year sentence for murder. Through his Islamic faith and volunteer programs in the prison, he transformed his life.

He wants other formerly incarcerated people to have the same chances — and he worries the state’s ongoing budget woes threaten those possibilities.

McKnight joined Connecticut NAACP State President Scot X. Esdaile, who was appointed as the national NAACP criminal justice, for the latest episode of WNHH FM’s Criminal Justice Insider” with Babz Rawls-Ivy and Jeff Grant.

McKnight is the program manager for Family ReEntry’s young fatherhood program. Both men came on air to talk about the state of criminal justice reform and a summit at Hillhouse High School that would feature Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and most recently Stephon Clark. (Read about the summit here.)

In Connecticut, we often are thought of as a second chance state, and we’ve done some amazing things in Connecticut,” he said. But with those state budget cuts, we almost became a no chance state.”

McKnight applauded the state’s efforts in making sure that formerly incarcerated people like him who are seeing success are working directly with those who are preparing to reenter society. But the state’s ongoing budget woes could undermine the small, unseen building blocks that help someone leaving prison to go on to be successful.

His own work helping incarcerated fathers with young children stay connected and helping them get reconnected is the big work that you can see, he said. But people don’t often think about the basic reentry needs that you can’t see like having the money to obtain new identification and a replacement birth certificate, which you will need to apply for a job and other services.

Because they cut the state budget, service providers — the people who deal with people coming out every day, the people getting out right now — unless they are federally funded or private funded can’t provide money to help a gentleman or a young lady get an ID,” he said. We’re touted as a second chance state but there’s no state funding to help a person buy an identification card or a birth certificate. It’s counterproductive.”

McKnight said he doesn’t want to see the concept of a second chance became just a means of someone’s political progress.

We don’t want people’s pain to be a platform for the progress of others when people are still in pain and their needs are not being addressed,” he said.


Read previous Criminal Justice Insider” articles:

Project Longevity Coordinator Works Off A DebtEx-CEO Serves Justice Reform Life Sentence”Ganim Describes Path Back From PrisonTransition Time For Teens In TroubleParole Holds A Key To Reentry PuzzleOrganizer Takes Sawdust-On-Floor” TackFemale Ex-Offenders Band TogetherGerman-Inspired Reform Calms PrisonSon’s Arrest Helped Shape Porter’s Politics

Criminal Justice Insider” airs every first and third Friday of the month on WNHH FM at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Listen to the full interview by clicking on the audio player above or Facebook Live video below.

Criminal Justice Insider” is sponsored by Family ReEntry and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

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