WLWT: How one of Ohio’s newest lawyers went from federal prison to UC Law

UC Law alum Damon Davis is helping individuals without representation navigate the justice system

Damon Davis took the oath for the Ohio Bar Admissions  this month and is now a Hamilton County public defender.

Davis, a 2022 graduate of UC Law, spoke with WLWT-TV about his journey from former federal prison inmate to accomplished attorney. Davis spent four-and-a-half years behind bars after being convicted of federal drug and gun charges in 2017. 

He was introduced to law while working in the prison library. Davis was released homeless and with only $26 to his name before finding a factory job that reimbursed his college tuition and offered a path forward. Davis attended community college and later the University of Kentucky for a bachelor’s degree. He completed UC Law with scholarship assistance.

“It means a lot to be here and be able to help these people,” Davis told WLWT. “To understand what they're going through and to have faced personally the things they're going through.”

While at UC Law Davis was an Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) fellow who wrote appeals for individuals in the prison system. Now a freshly-minted public defender, Davis is making a positive difference in his community.

Listen to the WLWT segment.

Read a digital story on WLWT’s website.

Spectrum News also produced a segment on Davis.

See a story on Davis from Court News Ohio.

Learn more about Damon Davis at UC Law.

Featured image at top: Damon Davis. Photo/UC Alumni Association.

Related Stories

3024 Results
1

State Department Delegation For Discussion On Foreign Policy

February 18, 2002

In what was billed as the most important delegation of the year in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Program, a group of 21 representatives from some of the world's most conflict-ridden regions participated in a special human rights program at the College of Law on Feb. 15

4

UC Law Students Release Ohio Death Penalty Study

January 16, 2003

Students from the UC College of Law's Urban Justice Institute released a study of Ohio's death penalty system that argues that serious reform is needed to protect against the possibility of executing an innocent individual.

5

State Department Forum Features World View on U.S. Policy

January 28, 2003

A global reaction to the latest developments in the U.S. war on terror and other foreign policy developments will be available when 19 visitors on a State Department-sponsored tour of the United States come to the UC College of Law for a forum on Jan. 31.

7

Law Alum to Speak on African-Americans in Civil War

February 6, 2003

Bernard Siler, a 1978 graduate of the UC College of Law, will be the featured speaker at the college's 2003 Minorty Law Day program. Siler will talk about his historical interest in the Civil War and the role of African-American soldiers.

8

PROFILE: The Full Story on Taxes

February 24, 2003

Paul Caron of the UC College of Law has turned his interest in tax policy and better ways to teach it into a new series of legal textbooks for one of the nation's largest legal education publishers.

9

UC Students' Work Has Ohio on Verge of Historic Vote

February 24, 2003

Ohio legislators are expected this week to confer their approval upon the 14th Amendment, laying to rest historical questions about Ohio's stance on the issue that were raised through research by UC law students.

10

Spring 2003 Study Abroad at UC

March 3, 2003

Globalization, rather than socialization and sun, will be the priority for more than 220 students heading overseas this spring.