University of Washington Law School Has Former Bank Robber as Law Student

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One of the most interesting students at the University of Washington law school is that of Shon Hopwood. Hopwood is a former bank robber who served 10 years in prison for his crimes, according to the Seattle Times.

“People that knew me before prison — they shake their heads,” Hopwood said. Hopwood is in year two of law school. “They shake their heads over me writing.”

  

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Over this past summer, Hopwood’s book ‘Law Man,’ was published. He co-wrote the memoir with Dennis Burke.

Michele Storms is the assistant dean for public service law at the University of Washington. Storms said, “There are so many things about him that are amazing and interesting. That whole prison lawyer thing? That’s no small potatoes. He obviously had an incredible intellectual capacity, but through a series of bad choices — very bad choices — and a lack of motivation, went down the wrong path.”

When asked why the school took a chance on Hopwood, the law school’s dean, Kellye Testy, said, “It’s a good question. All the things we’d really like to see in someone who’d use law to achieve justice — we saw it there with Shon. He’s a really diligent student and his peers respect him. Our faculty respect him. He’s really brought a spark to the law school.”