WASHINGTON — The DC Council made history on Tuesday by appointing Joel Castón to D.C.'s Sentencing Commission. He becomes the first person who spent time in prison to become one of the 17 members of the independent agency that helps shape sentencing guidelines for judges in DC Superior Court.
The commission is tasked with advising the DC Council on issues that promote fair and consistent sentencing policy. According to the agency's website, its primary responsibilities are to monitor the implementation and use of D.C.'s sentencing guidelines and to review and analyze data on sentencing practices and trends in the District of Columbia.
Castón spent 27 years behind bars for murder. Back in 2021, he became an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner while still serving time in DC Jail. He was released in November of that year.
During his incarceration, Castón said he turned his life around. He earned his G.E.D., learned multiple languages, became a worship leader and financial literacy instructor to other inmates.
“To me, it made me want to dig harder, made me want to study harder, made me want to defy the odds,” Caston said. “No, you cannot put me in this box.”
At the D.C. Jail, he also started a program, Young Men Emerging, which focused on teaching young men basic life skills to keep them from returning.
Castón's nomination to the sentencing commission faced some pushback from D.C. leaders. Last month, Attorney General Matthew Graves wrote a letter to Council.
In the five-page letter sent on Jan. 2, Graves voiced his concerns about D.C.'s crime rate and Castón's potential influence in the judicial system as a commissioner.
"The District’s Sentencing Guidelines power a revolving door for those arrested and prosecuted in this jurisdiction," D.C.'s top attorney wrote in the letter.
In response, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson doubled down on his nomination calling Castón "well regarded" and saying the commission recommended they select a returning citizen.
"The commission has guidelines for the purpose of consistency, it doesn't actually set the sentences," Mendelson said as he downplayed the agency's role in the criminal justice system.
Castón will serve a three-year term on the commission.
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