Ex-Mayor Barry May Teach Course in Criminal Justice
Former Mayor Marion Barry, who has been sentenced to six months in jail for a cocaine conviction, is being considered as a criminal justice teacher at the University of the District of Columbia, a school official said Thursday.
Barry could begin teaching undergraduate students in the school’s criminal justice department as soon as Monday, the beginning of the new semester.
Kelsey Jones, head of the university’s criminal justice department, said Barry “must have the right of equal access to employment opportunities” at the city school.
“Mr. Barry brings a tremendous amount of knowledge,” Jones said. “Any university must be insane not to consider him.”
Barry, 54, became a private citizen on Jan. 2, when he was replaced by Sharon Pratt Dixon, who campaigned for the District of Columbia mayor’s job on a pledge to reform the city’s government.
Barry was convicted last August on one cocaine possession charge by a jury that deadlocked on 12 other drug and perjury charges. He was later sentenced to six months in jail but is appealing.
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