Colorado hires first incarcerated professor to teach inmates

• It also gives incarcerated people — who typically earn just 80 cents a day — the opportunity to make significantly more money to cover basic needs when they are released.

Details: Adams State University in Alamosa recently hired David Carrillo, 49, as its first adjunct professor at the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, making him the first incarcerated Coloradan to teach a college-level class to other inmates.

• Carrillo has been teaching a two-hour Intro to Macroeconomics class, which has earned him a $3,600 salary.

What they're saying: "To be able to help these guys realize that they are capable of doing so much more — that's a reward right there," said Carrillo, who earned his MBA from Adams State in 2021.

Of note: Carrillo, who has spent nearly 30 years in prison for his role in a 1993 murder, was granted clemency by Gov. Jared Polis in December and is expected to be released later this month.

• His decision to get a bachelor's degree and willingness to work as a professor influenced the governor's decision, Polis wrote in a letter to Carrillo.

What's next: Adams State's prison education program is expanding, with plans to hire two more adjunct instructors by the end of the year.

Flashback: Last year, lawmakers passed a bill that reduces prison sentences for incarcerated people with nonviolent felony offenses if they earn higher education degrees or certificates while serving time.