JLUSA leaders speak to A&E Investigates about formerly incarcerated people running for public office

“The American electorate is rapidly changing its mind about people who’ve been put behind bars.

“In the 1970s, Gallup polling found widespread demand for punishment—with majorities demanding that drug dealers face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole—but today those numbers have inverted. Now there is broad, bipartisan support for reducing both the number of people behind bars and the severity of their sentences.

“But it’s one thing to want clemency for those ensnared by the criminal justice system. It’s another to seek representation from them. Do voters have any appetite for electing those with criminal records?

“There’s a lot of evidence that they do, says DeAnna Hoskins [Leading with Conviction™ 2016], president and CEO of JustLeadershipUSA, a nonprofit dedicated to providing leadership opportunities to the formerly incarcerated.

This isn’t about second chances. It’s about whether democracy allows participation and voter choice.

“‘It’s evident that attitudes have shifted with the public,’ Hoskins tells A&E Crime + Investigation, noting a slew of recent elections from North Carolina to Washington State in which the formerly incarcerated broke barriers by being elected to public office. ‘But the law has been slower to catch up.’ …

“‘People with arrest and conviction records get lumped in with people who are out committing crimes, and there has to be a distinction,’ [Marlon Chamberlain, Leading with Conviction™ 2019] tells A&E Crime + Investigation, noting that in Illinois, those with felony convictions are not allowed to do a variety of activities, ranging from owning a falcon to going to a bingo hall. ‘I don’t know what the rationale is for not being allowed to be at a bingo game.’

“Chamberlain, who was incarcerated as a youth on drug charges in Iowa, is also banned from running for office in Illinois. When asked if he would run for office should the law be lifted, he demurs.

“‘For me, it’s about community. I don’t want to self-select,’ he says, noting that he does believe it’s time that the ‘blanket restriction’ is lifted.

“As for Hoskins, she frames it not within the context of the rights of the formerly imprisoned, but rather the rights of the electorate.

“‘This isn’t about second chances,’ she says. ‘It’s about whether democracy allows participation and voter choice.’ …

“Although Illinois doesn’t allow the formerly incarcerated to hold office, other states have more lax laws. In 2020, Tarra Simmons [Leading with Conviction™ 2018] became the first formerly incarcerated person to ever serve in the Washington State legislature when she was elected state representative for the 23rd district. In 2024, Yusef Salaam was elected to serve New York City’s city council, a remarkable turnaround, given that at the age of 15 he was wrongly convicted in the notorious ‘Central Park 5’ case. He was released from prison after eight years, and his conviction was vacated a few years thereafter.

“Kentucky state senator Keturah Herron [Leading with Conviction™ 2019]—who spent five days in jail before taking a plea deal for a misdemeanor—say her legal troubles made her better equipped to fight on behalf of her constituents.

“‘I also believe that people with lived experiences are sometimes a better fit,’ Herron tells A&E Crime + Investigation. ‘As lawmakers, we think about laws in theory but not necessarily in practice. I think being able to think about things that happened in practice gives me an advantage in some situations.’”

Read the full article at AETV.com.