In the New York Times article, “From Prison to Ph.D.: TheRedemption and Rejection of Michelle Jones,†the author describeshow an Indiana prisoner who murdered her 4-year-old son 20 yearsago became a scholar and was awarded a PhD while still in prison.Following her application to attend further study at HarvardUniversity, she was turned down by Harvard’s administration, citingconcerns that they were supporting someone who is a convicted“child murderer.†Elizabeth Hinton, one of the Harvard historianswho backed Ms. Jones, called her “one of the strongest candidatesin the country last year, period.†The case “throws into relief,â€she added, the question of “how much do we really believe in thepossibility of human redemption?†Discuss.
