In a first, former prisoner takes seat in New York State Assembly [reuters.com]

Karen Clemmer 2/11/2212:00 PM

By Dan Fastenberg, Photo: Dan Fastenberg/Reuters, February 10, 2022

As far as Eddie Gibbs knows, he is the first person elected to the New York State Legislature who previously served time in prison, but shortly before his inauguration on Thursday he recalled wondering if he could ever shake the stigma of his manslaughter conviction more than 30 years ago.

Gibbs, 53, won handily as the Democratic candidate in the Jan. 18 special election in the state Assembly's 68th District to represent East Harlem, the New York City neighborhood where he was raised by a single mother in public housing.

Gibbs said his past shapes his legislative priorities, including improving the lot of his district's disproportionately high number of public-housing tenants and making it easier for people released from prison to reenter society.

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