Elgin Community College to open Criminal Justice Conversations with justice reform advocate

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Elgin Community College present the first installment of “Criminal Justice Conversations.”

The speaker event will feature guest Marshan Allen, director of Policy and Communications at the Illinois Prison Project, who leads initiatives to reduce incarceration and advocates for a fairer and more equitable legal system.

The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room (Room 181) on ECC’s main campus in Building B, 1700 Spartan Drive.

At age 15, Marshan Allen was sentenced to life in prison under Illinois’ broad felony-murder laws. Today, he is a law student and a leading policy advocate.

Drawing on over 25 years of lived experience behind bars, Marshan became a self-taught “jailhouse lawyer” and earned his paralegal certificate through determination and advocacy.

Before joining Illinois Prison Project, Marshan held several leadership roles in the criminal legal reform space, including vice president of Advocacy & Partnerships at Represent Justice, Research and Policy Fellow with Fair and Just Prosecution, and policy director for the Restore Justice Foundation.

For more information on Allen and his Restore Justice Foundation, head to his website, restorejustice.org/marshan-allen/.