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Access to Education In and Out of Prison with Raising My Voice

By Leah Y. Doherty
Two graduates of Raising My Voice, a training program aimed at empowering former detainees with the power of speech, spoke Wednesday night on their experiences within the criminal justice system as formerly incarcerated individuals. Hosted by the Harvard Organization for Prison Education Reform and the Leadership Institute at Harvard College, Thomas Edwards and Craig Benton advocated for criminal justice reform and stressed the importance of reintegrating young individuals into society, who want to escape a life of crime. Benton left the audience with one important lesson: “That men and women who were formerly incarcerated shouldn't be judged by their past deeds. That everybody is redeemable.”
Two graduates of Raising My Voice, a training program aimed at empowering former detainees with the power of speech, spoke Wednesday night on their experiences within the criminal justice system as formerly incarcerated individuals. Hosted by the Harvard Organization for Prison Education Reform and the Leadership Institute at Harvard College, Thomas Edwards and Craig Benton advocated for criminal justice reform and stressed the importance of reintegrating young individuals into society, who want to escape a life of crime. Benton left the audience with one important lesson: “That men and women who were formerly incarcerated shouldn't be judged by their past deeds. That everybody is redeemable.”

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