Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship

Faculty, staff, students, and community members waited patiently to hear the story of Leon Douglas when he visited Central Michigan University. Douglas’ life is a testament to resilience and overcoming adversity and of making mistakes and learning from them. He now shares his story with young people in hopes of helping them avoid the sorts of choices he made and the consequences he faced.

Leon Douglas’s early story is one of street life, hustling, and bad choices. Ultimately, however, his is a tale of redemption. As a child, Douglas suffered from an abusive mother, and as a teen, he fell in with a tough crowd. In 1973, he participated in a robbery gone wrong, and a man lost his life. Although he did not pull the trigger, he was tried as a juvenile and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Incarceration was difficult for Douglas, who experienced cruelty, violence, and hopelessness. However, he had loved ones and allies in his corner: like his wife, lawyers, and judges tired of sentencing children to long prison terms. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juveniles automatically to life without parole violated the Eighth Amendment which protects citizens from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishments.

Due to political differences in Lansing, it took another 10 years for Michigan State Senate Bills 119–123 and House Bills 4160–4164 to be passed, which eliminated an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole for youth under 19 and provided more protection of juveniles.

This opened the window for Douglas to appeal his case, and with assistance from Judge Fred Mester and other lawyers, his original sentence was revised by a judge to 40 years in prison to avoid a probation hearing and since he had already served 40 years with good behavior, he was released from prison.

In 2023, after almost 50 years in prison, Leon Douglas was now a free man.

Former Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Mester (CMU Class of 1959) also attended the events on campus with Douglas. The two met when Douglas was still in prison, and Judge Mester worked tirelessly to help him be released. They have been friends ever since.

“This event created an environment where students and faculty can learn about the injustices in the criminal legal system,” said CMU senior Jaden Walker. “It created a space for Leon Douglas to share his story of being incarcerated from such a young age, and the way that the system had failed him so early on. Through this event I learned more about the inner workings of the prisons system in Michigan. I hope we can have Leon Douglas back again soon.”

Douglas and Judge Mester spoke to an afternoon Youth Studies class, an evening campus-wide event, the CMU Board of Trustees faculty breakfast, and adolescents attending Oasis Alternative High School in Mount Pleasant.

“Members of the audiences at all these events were mesmerized by Leon’s sincere stories of a difficult childhood, becoming involved in crime, and the incredible hardships he experienced in prison,” said David Kinney, a Sociology professor in the School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service at CMU.

“Leon stressed that with his new life he is dedicated to sharing his experiences with youth so that they do not make the mistakes he made and end up in prison. He also speaks to college students to inspire them pursue careers in which they can work to create a more humane criminal justice system and help to successfully reintegrate former inmates into society,” said Kinney.

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the School of Politics, Society, Justice and Public Service and the Registered Student Organization Student Advocates for Prison Reform and the Incarcerated (SAPRI) hosted the events.