From Life Behind Bars To Becoming Opposing Counsel: How Sentencing Reform Can Shape The Law

There are many a motivational poster with the sentiment “You are bigger than your past” somewhere on it. They usually read as kitschy corporate art, right in the same category as a kitten grabbing a tight rope with the words “hang in there” written underneath it. But sometimes, you meet people who lock you in awe by how accurately they embody that ethos. You know the ones, those few who inspire just by going about their day’s goals — David Goggins usually comes to my mind. A new name was recently added to that list.

This fall, Marshan Allen will attend Chicago-Kent College of Law on a full scholarship. But unlike most incoming law students, Marshan’s path to a legal career began when he was sentenced as a teenager to life in prison.

Allen was released after almost 25 years thanks to youth sentencing reforms, but upon his release he was met with a new set of challenges. With a homicide conviction on his record, he faced significant obstacles to housing and employment. With unrelenting perseverance and the support of family, friends, and an employer willing to take a chance on him at a critical juncture in his life, Allen is now a homeowner, husband, and on his way to becoming a public-interest attorney.

Allen still has time for extracurriculars while he’s going through law school, like helping to bring awareness to the fact that slavery is still legal in the United States.

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