Bruce Reilly, Convicted Murderer, Making Waves at Tulane University as First Year Law Student

Bruce Reilly, convicted murderer & first year law student at Tulane University, awarded scholarship from NAACP Legal Defense Fund, but would a black male with a similar background have been accepted?

I have long maintained that everyone deserves a second chance in life, within reason, but justice and the societal acceptance must be colorblind and not tilted to one race. Bruce Reilly, a first year law student at Tulane University is making waves. Despite his impressive resume -- leader in the movement promoting human rights and social justice in prisons, a screenwriter who has worked in film and theater, the recipient of two scholarships for Tulane (one from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund) -- he is a convicted murderer. According to ABC News, Reilly, 38, was arrested for the stabbing death of Charles Russell, an English professor at Community College of Rhode Island in 1993. He pleaded no contest to second degree murder and robbery and spent 12 years in jail. While many can get over their fear of having a convicted murderer in their midst, since he seems to have turned his life around, others are concerned and have voiced their wariness in emails to Above the Law:

Are the students (such as myself) correct in being offended he was judged against us (and others) in the admissions process? Are students correct in being offended that he (allegedly) received a considerable amount of scholarship to offset the cost of the law school process? Are the students correct in being worried that, when placed in one of the most stress-inducing environments in the United States, Mr. Reilly will reach his tipping point and live up to his violent past, pulling a Virginia Tech-esque move and harming fellow students? I feel that the answer to each of these questions is in the affirmative.

However, I am sure the law school in question had none of these concerns in mind when admitting the convicted murderer. Instead, they granted him admission, and (once again, allegedly) encouraged him to attend by offering a substantial scholarship, which is aided by the scholarship provided by the NAACP. Furthermore, it is of the opinion of this writer, as well as other students, the school was in the opinion that they would be hailed as being on the cutting edge of legal education, admitting convicted murderers (deemed as a “psychopathic master manipulator” by the state of Rhode Island) into their school, to be in close proximity not only with other law students, but also the undergraduates on campus.

I would like to stress that it is simply unconscionable that the law school would admit such a student, knowing he would never be allowed to sit for the bar in any state. With the economy suffering in the way it is, as well as current graduates having a hard time finding it impossible to sit for the bar due to parking tickets, bad credit and the like, is it admissible for a law school to admit a student on the basis they can pay tuition, knowing their options as an attorney are extremely limited, at best? Source: Above the Law

Bruce Reilly deserves a second chance, but he shouldn't be given a pass because he is white. There are thousands of blacks and Latinos who were convicted of lesser crimes who are having a hard time finding gainful employment, no matter what qualifications they bring to the table. It's also very ironic that Reilly was able to earn a scholarship from the NAACP. How many more black students in similar situations have ever been awarded such a scholarship? I would love to know what qualifications he had to meet to get the scholarship. My concern is that the playing field isn't level and a black male convicted of a similar crime or any crime for that matter, including misdemeanors, won't get the same shot at making it the second time around. On that basis, Bruce Reilly should never have gotten into Tulane University so easily.

Read the entire article: http://abovethelaw.com/2011/09/new-tulane-1l-is-an-advocate-a-writer-and-a-murderer/#disqus_thread