Edward Sanders on his first day of work at the Washtenaw Co. Prosecutor’s Office.
Former juvenile lifer Edward Sanders starts work for Washtenaw County’s Conviction Integrity & Expungement Unit
Sanders spent 42 yrs. in prison as a juvenile lifer, released in 2017
Studied law, ran legal classes, helped others as paralegal in MDOC, now active in continuing struggle for liberation
July 8th, 2021
Article from Safe and Just Michigan blog:
(Safe & Just Michigan first interviewed Edward Sanders, a former juvenile lifer, in July 2018, after he had been released from prison for about a year. Since then, he has contacted us periodically to keep us up-to-date on what his life has been like since then. He recently reached out to us to give us some significant news.)
Ann Arbor, MI--When he was 17, Edward Sanders stood before a judge who told him he’d spend the rest of his life in prison — but that didn’t happen. One of Michigan’s juvenile lifers, he got a chance for freedom more than 42 years later because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all juvenile lifers deserved a chance for a resentencing. When Sanders finally got his in 2017, he was released.
Anyone could forgive Sanders if he never wanted another thing to do with the justice system after that. Instead, he’s running toward it as fast as he can. Sanders, who received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan earlier this year, started a job with the Washtenaw County Conviction Integrity & Expungement Unit in late June. That’s not all — he’s also hoping to start law school soon.
“I’m not the kind of person who can perpetually be at rest. I wake up early in the morning and I need something to do,” Sanders said. “I want to combine both social service and law — to combine knowledge instead of putting it into silos. What I want to do is bring about more transformational reform and work towards abolition.”
For Sanders, it’s all a part of communing with his creator. Helping others and working to bring about systemic change to the criminal justice system are two of the things that make his life meaningful. And that’s why he’s so excited about his new job in the prosecutor’s office.
Sander’s won’t be involved in the prosecution of anyone. Quite the opposite, he will be investigating possible wrongful convictions with the aim of releasing people who are currently incarcerated.
“It feels very exciting,” Sanders said. “I’m very excited for this county, and excited to be working with so many dynamic people. (Assistant Prosecuting Attorney) Victoria Burton Harris is someone I have so much respect for, and (Washtenaw County Prosecutor) Eli Savit clerked with a Supreme Court justice.”
Edward Sanders at Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.
Savit didn’t just clerk for any Supreme Court justice, Sanders noted. He worked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who helped decide the 2012 Miller v. Alabama ruling that gave juvenile lifers like himself a chance for a resentencing. She later sided with the majority in the 2016 Montgomery v. Louisiana ruling that made the Miller case retrospective for people like Sanders who had been incarcerated for decades. Savit clerked for Justice Ginsberg from 2014-15.
But — as is typical for Sanders — he doesn’t view landing this job as achieving an end goal. His new position is crucial in correcting errors after the fact. He envisions a future where those errors don’t happen in the first place.
“I would like to help advocate for policy change,” Sanders said. “This is about being responsible and having policies to prevent wrongful convictions in the future.”
For Sanders, bringing about transformational criminal justice reform is rooted in his spirituality. As a child growing up in Detroit, he lived near both Malcom X’s house and the church where Aretha Franklin’s father was a pastor. He went to a Catholic summer camp that instilled in him the value of providing service to others.
After he was sent to prison, that need to be of service didn’t die out.
“I was not going under the rock that was intended for me to go under,” he recalled. “I was going to use it as an educational experience.”
Edward Sanders helped organize rally for juvenile lifers still in MDOC in Jan. 2021
Sanders hit the law books and became a paralegal. He used what he learned to help other people in prison prepare for their court dates.
“A former prisoner used to call me a civil rights attorney. I took offense to that,” he said with a laugh. “I saw myself as more of a Black power type. But now I see it.”
Sanders now wishes that others who see themselves as spiritual or religious would draw on their faith and become involved in the fight for criminal justice reform. After all, he reasons, values like redemption, second chances and forgiveness are literally written into the texts of all major faith traditions.
“I would ask the clergy that no matter what type of politics you get into, don’t ever give up on the idea of pardons and reprieves,” Sanders said. “Bring your sense of grace and mercy with you.”
Edward Sanders at mass rally for wrongfully convicted June 4, 2021, in downtown Detroit
VOD editor Diane Bukowski covered Edward Sanders’ case extensively for the Michigan Citizen starting in 2004, then for VOD. Wayne Co. has the highest proportion of juvenile lifers in Michigan and the U.S.; the U.S. Supreme Court vacated their sentences in 2012 and 2016, but 150 remain left behind. Sanders helped organize rally in Jan. 2021 demanding release of juvenile lifers.
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First of all, I want to thank Edward Sanders for his message to the outside world. I worked at MDOC and I truly understand some of the issues that need changing. I am working with a lifer (LWOP) and doing everything I can to help get him released. I am just a friend that after retirement I became an advocate to him. He’s going on 47 or 48 years. I know you are working for the juvenile’s lifers, but if you can give me some advice on how I can get the PB to acknowledge this man has merit, I would sure appreciate it. I worked very hard when I go his commutations. I can add more if possible. Again, Mr. Sanders stay strong, and congratulations on your release and helping others who so deserve another change.