Authored by Dr. Lachin Hatemi
David Singleton is the executive director of the
Ohio Justice and Policy Center
(OJPC), a non-profit law firm working to reform and improve the Ohio’s
criminal justice system. Singleton was President Obama’s classmate at
Harvard Law School’s class of 1991. His wife was also classmates with
Michelle Obama at the same law school. The Singletons remained close to
the Obama family over the years; they even hosted a fundraiser in
Cincinnati for the Obama’s 2004 US Senate Campaign.
Being a Harvard Law School alumnus, Singleton could easily have a
lucrative career as partner in a prestigious law firm. He instead found
his calling in public advocacy for some of the most disadvantaged and
despised members of society: people caught up in the criminal justice
system.
Under Singleton’s leadership, OJPC has striven to make Ohio’s
criminal justice systems more fair, intelligent, and redemptive. In
2003, OJPC brought a landmark class action lawsuit which over a
nine-year period reformed health care for Ohio prisoners. Over the
years, OJPC has represented prisoners who have suffered violence and
sexual assault at the hands of correctional staff, and has successfully
fought for prisoners seeking to exercise their religious rights behind
bars, including access to religious meals.