--- title: We Need to Forgive the NYU Student Who Killed Her Child description: After 20 years in prison and a Harvard rejection, Michelle Jones will attend NYU to get her PhD. There are many reasons to support her canonical: https://time.com/4941576/harvard-nyu-michelle-jones/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-14T22:37:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:25:59.587Z article:section: Ideas og:title: We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child og:description: Harvard lost out by not admitting her og:url: https://time.com/4941576/harvard-nyu-michelle-jones/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07eb8cd9664d5fa/6988dde48fd2ee9511358dcd/forgive-college-bound-mother-killed-child.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: forgive-college-bound-mother-killed-child og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child twitter:description: Harvard lost out by not admitting her twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07eb8cd9664d5fa/6988dde48fd2ee9511358dcd/forgive-college-bound-mother-killed-child.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c533104e-3b72-41f0-a901-e05e58701b97&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 430,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 50.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=c533104e-3b72-41f0-a901-e05e58701b97&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=c533104e-3b72-41f0-a901-e05e58701b97&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. It reaches 430,000 subscribers with a 50.7% open rate as of August 2026. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent.  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Sep 14, 2017 10:37 PM UTC  Michelle Jones, a Ph.D. candidate at New York University who was released from prison in August, in New York, Sept. 11, 2017. Michelle Jones, a Ph.D. candidate at New York University who was released from prison in August, in New York, Sept. 11, 2017. Damon Winter—The New York Times/Redux  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Sep 14, 2017 10:37 PM UTC Michelle Jones is not like other PhD candidates rolling up to New York University this year. Firstly, she only got out of the joint two days before school started. Secondly, folks at Harvard are still arguing over whether they should have admitted her. And thirdly, when she was still a teenager, she killed her 4-year-old son and buried his body in the woods. Jones’ story, which surfaced in the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/us/harvard-nyu-prison-michelle-jones.html?%5Fr=0) on September 14, is an incredible one. It pushes so many buttons, discussing it feels like an experiment in the social mapping of America’s sore spots. The tale has three versions, and the one people find the most compelling determines how they feel about Jones. There’s the story of the plucky young woman who got two degrees while incarcerated. [These are not pity-diplomas](http://www.slate.com/articles/news%5Fand%5Fpolitics/history/2015/03/indiana%5Fwomen%5Fs%5Fprison%5Fa%5Frevisionist%5Fhistory.html). Through meticulous research conducted by laboriously sending out for photocopies from the Indiana Archives and poring through them for data, Jones discovered evidence of a whole slew of Catholic-run [Magdalene laundry](http://undpress.nd.edu/books/P01180#description)**–**like reformatories that had housed Indianan prostitutes and “fallen women” against their will in the 1840s. A [paper](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0WaPggKV2mkYUJPS2hLNXBoVUk/view) she co-authored was published in _The Journal of the Indiana Academy of Social Sciences_ in 2014\. It won an award from Indiana’s historical society. Then there’s the story of the teenage mother who got pregnant at 14, was beaten by her mother while carrying the child and gave birth to Brandon, a child with a disability. Before his first birthday, court records show, her baby was taken from her for three years and lived with his father and paternal grandmother. Not too long after she regained custody, in 1992, she left him behind for the weekend when she went to an out-of-town theater conference. He was never seen again. His body has never been found. A friend later [testified](http://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/court-of-appeals/1998/111301-lmb.html) that Jones told her she thought she might have beaten him to death. Brandon’s paternal grandmother testified that Jones had said “she didn’t want to raise a freak.” Jones was convicted of murdering Brandon and given a 50-year sentence. Because of her strenuous efforts to turn her life around in prison, this was reduced to 20 years, and a few extra months were knocked off so that she could start college on time. The final story is about Harvard, famous for being as difficult to get into as prison is to get out of. Jones applied to the history and American studies departments. Both departments looked on her application favorably, but two American studies professors flagged it for further examination. The professors were worried that she had soft-pedaled the seriousness of her crime. One professor was unwise enough to tell the New York _Times_ that he was concerned they’d get attacked by conservative news media outlets and that “if this candidate is admitted to Harvard, where everyone is an elite among elites, that adjustment could be too much.” So there you have it, race, class, motherhood, responsibility, redemption, forgiveness and a sprinkling of the extremes of liberal elitism all rolled into one big ball of highly emotive wax. Jones’ story offers everybody something to object to and something to be inspired by, no matter their political leanings. In a personal statement appended to her Harvard application, Jones had noted she had a psychological breakdown after experiencing abandonment and domestic violence, and that she had repeated those patterns with her son. “I have made a commitment to myself and him that with the time I have left, I will live a redeemed life, one of service and value to others,” she wrote. For some people, that is just not enough. Jones killed her own small, disabled child. The train of thought terminates right there. No further reflection is necessary. But we should forgive Jones. Not just because she served her time and should get to re-enter society. Not just because she turned her life around, against considerable odds, in America’s confounding and dysfunctional incarceration system, which is especially cruel to those with psychiatric disorders. And not just because [studies](http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1161&context=ysphtdl) have [demonstrated](https://www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/ttb%5Faces%5Fconsequences.pdf) time and time again that a [toxic childhood](http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2300375) such as Jones’ will have a deep impact on the [mental health](http://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/anger-and-violence/understanding-the-imapct-of-violence-on-chidlren-the-adverse-childhood-experiences-ace-study/) of those who endure it. Mostly we should forgive Jones because continuing to punish a woman for something heinous she did while a teenager will not help that woman’s murdered child in any way. It will not bring him back or make his life more precious. Nor will it help future Brandons. Jones is in a unprecedented position to shed light on some of America’s thorniest problems: How can we make prisons better? How can we break the generational cycle of incarceration? What can we do to help our most vulnerable kids and mothers? A woman with Jones’ scars and sins can address these problems from a unique standpoint. She should be given a chance to do so. If she fails to make any difference, she joins a list of smart and able people who have not been able to figure this issue out. But she can’t even try if she isn’t forgiven, if she doesn’t get a clean slate and a clear shot. None of that means Harvard or any other institution had to admit her. The university has the right and duty to put together the class it feels best about. It may be sacrilege to say this, but the difference between the education offered in Cambridge and the one offered at NYU is probably visible only to people from a small part Massachusetts in any case. Jones won’t much notice a loss. Harvard, on the other hand, might. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4941576/harvard-nyu-michelle-jones/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4941576/harvard-nyu-michelle-jones/"},"headline":"We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child","datePublished":"2017-09-14T22:37:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:25:59.587Z","description":"Harvard lost out by not admitting her","url":"https://time.com/4941576/harvard-nyu-michelle-jones/","keywords":["justice","Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07eb8cd9664d5fa/6988dde48fd2ee9511358dcd/forgive-college-bound-mother-killed-child.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Belinda Luscombe","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte07eb8cd9664d5fa/6988dde48fd2ee9511358dcd/forgive-college-bound-mother-killed-child.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"forgive-college-bound-mother-killed-child","caption":"Michelle Jones, a Ph.D. candidate at New York University who was released from prison in August, in New York, Sept. 11, 2017.","creditText":"Damon Winter—The New York Times/Redux","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/justice/","name":"justice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4941576/harvard-nyu-michelle-jones/","name":"We Need to Forgive the College-Bound Mother Who Killed Her Child"}}]}] ```