“I promised myself before I got out of that bus that no matter what the outcome was that, you know, I was just going to try to do better for myself,” he told ABC News. “I knew that I wanted to better myself, and I did that.”

McKinley was arrested for a gang-related murder when he was 16-years-old. He was sentenced to 100 years and was incarcerated in a maximum security prison.

He decided to pursue a degree after seeing the impact of legal fees on his family and started helping those around him who did not have access to legal aid.

“I was giving back and contributing to those who was in need of help — you know, in spite of them being incarcerated with me, they were still human beings,” McKinley said.

Benard McKinley

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