Fighting for the Right

John A. Boyd, candidate for Cleveland City Council in the Ward 6 Special Runoff Election that will be held on April 22 is a convicted murderer ... there is no question about that. At age 16 he killed a store owner in a botched armed robbery. Upon his conviction he was sent to an adult prison to serve his sentence.

“I was one of only four 16-year-olds in a very tough, adult, maximum security prison,” said Boyd, “and the four of us made a protection pact: No one, and we did mean no one, was going to take our manhood, no one was going to rape either of us ... not without a do-or-die fight.”. Boyd now states that they didn’t have to kill anyone to protect their honor and person... but once blood was spilled on the prison yard. The older and stronger prisoners soon got the message: Find easier prey... or put your own life at risk.

Even though Boyd was busy staying alive, he nonetheless obtained a high school diploma and an associate’s degree before being released at age 23. However, when his murder conviction prevented him from finding gainful employment, he went back to what he knew: The streets — and eventually back to prison where he earned a bachelor’s degree. After serving another four years he was once again released back to Cleveland, and back to no job. Arrested on a parole violation, he again went back to prison where earned yet another degree.

Upon his release in 2000 his fortunes changed. Someone was finally willing to take a chance on Boyd, and he’s been working at the same job for eight years now — and is a tax-payer, not a tax-taker. He also has been accepted into law school ... and now he wants to give something back to his community by serving on Council. But Ohio law is at odds with itself; one statute states that he can’t hold elective office, while yet a 2006 ruling by then Attorney General Jim Petro suggests that he can. He’s decided to challenge the confusing law on this point.

Assuming that he knows enough about the ills of one of the poorest wards in the state of Ohio to represent it well, the question still remains: Should people vote for John Boyd merely because he has this compelling personal story? That’s entirely up to the voter to decide how forgiving they want to be in regards to his past transgressions. But should he be allowed to run for the office? My answer is an unequivocal “yes,” and here’s why: To deny a person a chance to redeem themselves is not only un-Christian, it’s counter-productive to the reentry efforts that are sweeping the nation.

It’s in our nation’s best self-interest to give people who have run afoul of the law and then turned their lives around a chance to become contributing members of society. A person that is fully engaged in our economic and democratic processes is far less at risk to recidivate... and recidivism is costing states from Ohio, to Florida, to California a bundle — and you do know whose tax money that is, don’t you? Ours, yours and mine.

Additionally, society rightly demands that people with felony convictions totally rehabilitate themselves — that means 100 percent, right? But then, that same society only wants to give the rehabilitated person 50 percent of their rights back in states like Ohio, where felons can vote, but allegedly cannot hold office.

This is a law that is crying out to be challenged, and if you want to help John Boyd mount his campaign for positive change, go to www.servingthepeople.org and make an on-line contribution, or send a check (personal checks only, please) to: Friends of John Boyd, 2173 E. 84th St., Cleveland, OH 44103. You don’t have to reside in the ward to contribute, and any amount will be appreciated. But don’t do it for the person, do it for the principle.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com
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