Gordon Davis was 16 when he was tried as an adult and sentenced to from 25 years to life in prison.
After 3 years in jail, he was transferred at 19 to the Clinton Correctional Institute. And from there, the harrowing and dehumanizing effects of our prison system just got worse.
He applied and, after the third attempt, was accepted into the Bard Prison Initiative that has since been made famous by Lynn Novick’s documentary series “College Behind Bars”.
Mr. Davis committed to and met the challenges of Bard’s grueling course work, which is equal to and in some ways more demanding than that of its New York campus counterpart. He earned a BA in literature from Bard and an MA in professional studies from the New York Theological Institute.
His life is proof that the notion of “once a criminal always a criminal” is not only bogus but counter-productive. It leads to branding, marginalizing and destroying human lives based upon a thing they did or — as the Innocence Project has proved time and again — did NOT do, at the single worst moment of their lives.
Mr. Davis’s determination to broaden his mind and improve his life, coupled with the opportunity to do so via a college education in prison, has made all the difference in the world.
He was was granted release at his very first appearance before the New York State parole board and left the walls, bars and razor wire behind him on May 11th of this year.
Now you can hear his first-hand account of growing up behind bars, the emancipatory power of education, how language changes structure, what life is like for our incarcerated citizens during a pandemic, and what improvements are necessary for a brighter future for humanity.
Gretchen Primack: The friend and patron mentioned but unnamed in the episode
