He got a college degree in prison. Now he’s off to a prestigious law school

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In a historic achievement, Benard McKinley, 39, was accepted to Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago

Since leaving prison in December 2023, Benard McKinley, 39, has been busy preparing for huge next steps.

McKinley, who served 22 and a half years in prison, finished his bachelor’s degree last year and applied for a place at the prestigious law school, all while incarcerated at the Stateville correctional center in northern Illinois. “I was already passionate about trying to go to college, I just didn’t know how or when that would happen,” he said.

The NPEP experience proved transformative, he said. “It allowed me to reflect on who I thought I was, who I wanted to be, and where I wanted to go,” he said, adding that classes taught him how social ills, such as systemic racism, manifest in society. “At the end of the day, prison still has a negative social dynamic and to be able to block all that out and focus can be challenging,” McKinley said.

 

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