Michael Braham, ‘jailhouse lawyer’ who spent 25 years in prison, set to attend law school in the fall
During his time in a Connecticut prison, Braham successfully prosecuted several actions against prison officials and assisted other inmates in doing the same, sparking his passion for the law.
A “jailhouse lawyer” turned paralegal is headed to law school.
During his 25 years at Cheshire Correctional Institution in Connecticut, Michael Braham successfully prosecuted several actions against Department of Correction personnel and assisted other inmates in doing the same – sparking his love and passion for the law.
“For most of the time that I was incarcerated, I strove to better myself in preparation for the period after my release,” Braham told theGrio. “I did so in two ways mainly: education (while there, I earned an associate’s and two bachelor’s degrees) and through pro se litigation.”
Pro se litigation is the term for those who represent themselves in court without the assistance of an attorney. On June 24, 1996, at the age of 21, Braham was arrested and charged with the murder of Geoffrey Murphy, a childhood family friend.
Braham told theGrio he didn’t intend to kill the victim, which would have made him guilty of manslaughter as opposed to murder. However, he pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for a 32-year sentence at the suggestion of his “incompetent defense counsel.”
He launched his pro se action in 1998 after learning that his attorney had misled him to get him to enter the guilty plea. “In addition to telling me that he would get me pardoned, he told me that I would be parole eligible,” Braham recalled. “Neither was true.”
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After serving 24 1/2 years, a mutual friend connected Braham with attorney Alex Taubes, who founded a boutique civil rights law firm in downtown New Haven, Connecticut, in late 2019. Taubes typically takes on clients seeking sentence reductions through petitions for commutation or motions for sentence modification – and he helped Braham get his sentence reduced free of charge.
Since then, Braham has been studying for the LSAT and working with Taubes on the full scope of cases in his practice. “Overall,” Taubes told theGrio, “we’ve helped 93 individuals (not including Michael) get over 1,000 years off their prison sentences in the few years (since late 2021) we’ve been doing this work.”
Taubes – who celebrated Braham’s law school acceptance via X on Saturday – told theGrio that although he’s attending law school, there will also be a spot for Braham at his firm.
Apart from Braham, Matthew Abraham, another formerly incarcerated paralegal, and Michael Merli — a non-offender who hails from Connecticut’s police accountability activist movement and is engaged in community organizing — are also employed at Taubes’ law firm.
“I’ve stayed at Alex’s firm for all these years for three reasons,” Braham told theGrio. “(1) He represented me on my motion for sentence modification for free while very few others were only willing to do so if paid tens of thousands of dollars; (2) he gave me a paralegal job when virtually no one else would; and (3) because he is my friend.”
During his undergraduate studies, Braham attended the Wesleyan-Middlesex Center for Prison Education, where he majored in philosophy and focused on the relationship between sociology and critical race theory.
Braham is also a member of the New Haven-based nonprofit Full Citizens Coalition. He is working to pass legislation allowing convicts to vote.
“I wish I could turn back time and bring Geoffrey back,” Braham said. “But because I can’t, I have long committed myself to helping others avoid making poor choices like the ones which culminated in me causing another’s death.”
Braham didn’t wish to disclose which law schools he’s interested in, but he told theGrio he’d submitted 10 applications, of which two had accepted him, one placed him on a waitlist, and one rejected him. While he has not decided which school he will attend, his law school journey will kick off in the fall.
After graduating, he envisions practicing law, perhaps as a general practitioner. However, he added, “It’s too early to say, as my law school experience will certainly further shape me.”
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