Benard McKinley, a 19-year-old, was sentenced to 100 years in prison at the Stateville Correctional Center in northern Illinois for a gang-related murder committed at the age of 16.
Four months after his release, he will be admitted to a top law school, fulfilling a promise he made to himself after accepting responsibility for his actions.
The 39-year-old will begin law school this fall as a member of the Northwestern Law School class of 2027.He told ABC News that he promised himself that no matter what happened, he would attempt to improve himself. I knew I wanted to improve myself, and I did.
McKinley’s decision to study law stemmed from his family’s financial difficulties due to legal expenditures. He earned his GED and paralegal diploma while incarcerated and was eager to further his education. McKinley was accepted into the highly competitive Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP), which offers a unique opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree while serving a term. The Guardian says that only 40 out of 400 candidates in 2023 were accepted.
McKinley, who represented himself in court, was able to reduce his sentence from 100 years to 25, which he completed. He also helped others without legal representation.
He applied to law school while in prison, took the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and was released in December 2023.
In his application essay, McKinley detailed his experience of being incarcerated at the age of 19 and graduating from a prestigious university. NPEP tutors typed up McKinley’s handwritten essays, and many of them also sent letters to the law school admissions committee on his behalf.
The former prisoner is the first PEP alumnus to get admitted to law school. PEP, which launched in the fall of 2018, is the only program in the country that awards inmates bachelor’s degrees from top-10 colleges, according to program director Jennifer Lackey, who talked with the network.
She went on to say, “I did some work with incarcerated people much earlier on in my life and, you know, became an educator and knew that providing post-secondary educational opportunities to people who were incarcerated would be a very significant way of positively intervening in the criminal legal system.”
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services reports that while over 600,000 people are released from prison each year, recidivism remains a significant issue. Correctional education programs, like as PEP, which McKinley participated in, are working to improve the issue.
McKinley is currently preparing for his historic first year of study at the prestigious Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, in between work and visits from friends and family.
“Just a few months ago, I was still in prison, unsure about my future plans to attend law school. McKinley expressed her excitement about attending law school in an interview with the Guardian.
McKinley desires to become a civil rights lawyer and establish a legal aid clinic to help underprivileged communities.
He is now the first member of his family to attend law school, let alone university. He said, “It feels fantastic. I am undoubtedly a wonderful role model for the next generation and my family. So you understand, I have a task to complete.”