Democracy Voices - Shelton McElroy, Jefferson County
Shelton McElroy lives in Louisville with his 8-year-old daughter Jasmin. He teaches at Jefferson Community and Technical College and is involved in various community organization. Shelton shares his story as a former felon.
"At 18yrs old I aged out of foster care. I had been chronically homeless for several years. To make it, I sold marijuana, and I got caught. While going to court for that charge, I tried to brake into the home of another drug dealer and was caught doing that as well. Less than 6 months after my 18th birthday I once again became a ward of the state. I was sentenced to 4 years in the Kentucky State Reformatory. Not much reform took place, but I did manage to earn myself 3 additional years behind maximum-security walls, for climbing a sixteen-foot tall razor wire fence (Escape). September 22nd 2002, I served out my sentence day for day, went in at 18, got out at 25. Over 11 years later and no return to the life I use to live. I have an 8-year-old daughter who I've raised every day of her life, she needs me and I need her. Our lives are intermingled in a way that cannot be untangled by crime, imprisonment, or discrimination based on my past involvement in both. My daughter deserves the best, and one day at a time I do my damnedest to provide. However to not be recognized as a citizen, or the inability to acquire employment based on information unrelated to the job qualifications diminishes not only my value, but the value of my entire household."
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