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At San Diego Prison, a unique group of prisoners, including Eric Menendez, one of the facility’s most famous prisoners, can now call themselves university graduates.
They were awarded a university diploma from UC Irvine at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego on Wednesday.
This is the second graduation class in UCI’s lift program, giving inmates the opportunity to earn their bachelor’s degree behind the bar. All 15 graduates majored in sociology, 11 of whom were suppressed in English.
Last year was his first UCI lift graduation class, including elder Menendez’s brother Lyle. According to prison staff, Eric didn’t attend the opening ceremony on Wednesday as he wanted to avoid camera and media coverage.
The Menendez brothers, convicted of a shotgun murder of their parents inside the Beverly Hills Mansion in 1989, are waiting for a state parole board hearing scheduled for August 21 and 22 after their sentences fell in May.
The brothers’ lawyers argue that their pursuit of education within prisons showed that they were rehabilitated and pose no threat to public safety.
Another graduate, Joel Baptist Abreu, was sentenced to life in prison for accessory murder, but education gave him another chance.
“I really knew I could absorb knowledge and do things I didn’t think I could do. Those little victories translated into big ones,” Abreu said.
Jose Flores, a former gang member and currently in prison for 13 years, celebrated his achievements.
“She’s so proud,” Flores said, restraining her tears. “My life was out of control, so that she could see me, and that she would share this special moment with me, that would mean the world for her.”
Flores was able to walk with pride and purpose after not expecting to be a university graduate.
“I still can’t believe it. I took college classes. I took a chance that I didn’t think I would be successful,” Flores said. “At the end of the semester, I got a ‘B’. And I was like you knew what? It made me believe I could do it. ”
Most of UCI’s nearly 9,000 alumni attended the opening ceremony a few days ago.
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