"At age 16, Reginald Dwayne Betts was sentenced to nine years in prison for taking part in an armed carjacking at a Virginia mall. 'I'm under no illusion that sending you to prison will help you, but you can get something out of it if you want to,' the judge told Betts at the sentencing hearing.
"In fact, Betts did get something out of it. He's now a published poet and author. He's been interviewed by the New Yorker and National Public Radio. He's a national advocate for a youth justice group, and has been a speaker at a number of legal conferences.
"And later this spring, he will receive a Yale Law School J.D. Yes, he's been turned down for apartments and jobs because of what he calls his 'baggage and bunch of felonies.' He's not eligible to vote in many states. But he got into one of the top law schools in the country. Actually, he got into two of the top law schools in the country: He was admitted to Harvard as well."
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