George Malvaney

Guest Columnist

I am a member of a unique fraternity that society tends to shun and shut away. We are a small and non-vocal community that is not constrained to a racial or ethnic class. No political or religious bounds exist, and all socio-economic groups are duly represented. Despite our diversity, the American people look down upon us with disdain and contempt. We are ex-convicts.

I recently attended the Mississippi Summit on Criminal Justice Reform where we were referred to as “the formerly incarcerated.” I quietly laughed when I heard us described this way. American society loves to develop soft descriptive names that are not so harsh or offensive. Today’s politically correct soft-pedal attempt to make everyone feel good does not fit in the world of ex-cons. I will look you in the eye and tell you that I am an ex-convict. I am not proud of it just like I am not proud of other shadows in my dark past. But I own it and no longer attempt to hide it like I once did.

The Mississippi Summit on Criminal Justice Reform was quite the remarkable event. I had no idea what to expect when Gov. Phil Bryant reached out to me and suggested that I attend. He said he was speaking at the event and supporting it. Gov. Bryant is a rock-solid conservative and former deputy sheriff with a reputation of being tough on crime. So, if anything, I expected the summit to be a meeting of right-wingers and Republican politicians looking for more ways to “lock em up and throw away the keys.” I could not have been more wrong.

I arrived early and sat down to read over the agenda. I scanned the list of panel participants and my first thoughts were: Is this really happening? And then, is this really happening in Mississippi? I was not at all surprised to see participants representing several national organizations known for promoting hard-right, conservative agendas. But much to my surprise, equally represented were organizations known for promoting hard-left, liberal agendas. When I saw the name “Van Jones” on a panel list I asked myself, is this the same Van Jones that is an African-American, social justice activist, CNN contributor, and former advisor to President Barack Obama?

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There were several hundred attendees at the summit and I noticed significant representation of African-Americans and whites. Republican and Democratic politicians were attending as were business leaders, community activists, judges, attorneys and concerned citizens. And what was strikingly amazing to me is that everyone was on the same page. In a rare moment of solidarity, I was witnessing an extremely diverse group of participants all coming together. We were all in agreement to reform Mississippi’s criminal justice system in a direction that would have been unheard of in Mississippi in the recent past.

I left the summit that afternoon with a real sense of optimism knowing that Mississippi is now in a position to be a progressive leader in the area of criminal justice reform. With Gov. Bryant’s leadership, we can set the example on a national front in reforming our broken, and often inhumane criminal justice system that currently exists in this country. As an ex-convict who has been able to break through the social and legal barriers that ex-cons face, I am very proud to see my home state of Mississippi taking a leadership role in this long-ignored stain that impacts too many families in our great country.

George Malvaney, a fifth-generation Mississippian, is the author of “Cups Up: How I Organized a Klavern, Plotted a Coup, Survived Prison, Graduated College, Fought Polluters and Started a Business.”He is an owner in Clinton-based E3 Environmental, with offices across the gulf-south.