Illinois Lt. Governor Tells the Story of SRA Student Howard Keller

In January 2020, Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton shares about meeting School of Restorative Arts master’s program student Howard Keller.

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Transcription

And so i went a second time and this time we met with men who were studying to get their master’s degrees and we sat in circle with them to hear their stories and one of them told me, “Lieutenant governor I was born in 1978. When i was 21 years old I made a very very stupid mistake for which i’m guilty and which i accept.”

And he told me that although he was sentenced to 55 years in prison he had been diligently working to change his life while in prison he had gone to barber school he had mentored his peers and he had been getting his education and he was now on course to earning his Master’s Degree in Arts of Christian Ministry and Restorative Arts in may of 2022.

But because he was sentenced in the year 2000 he may never see the light of day. You see for many incarcerated men and women they receive little to no credit no good time served. even when they have been rehabilitated.

He was sentenced in illinois after our state dramatically changed its sentencing laws. Had he been sentenced just a few years before, he would likely be getting out soon with his master’s degree in hand, but because of our punitive outdated sentencing laws he will not get out until he’s 77 years old in the year 2055.

This is why we are here to write a new narrative and this is why i stand with our governor who ran on a campaign to bring big change to illinois and who spends every waking moment contemplating how to make life better for the people we serve.