By Dan Fastenberg

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Eddie Gibbs is New York State’s first elected legislator to have served time in prison. However, he recalled that he was unsure if he can ever forget the manslaughter conviction he received more than thirty years ago.

Gibbs (53), won easily as the Democratic candidate for the special election Jan. 18 in the 68th district of the state Assembly to represent East Harlem. This is the New York City area where Gibbs was raised in public housing by his single mother.

Gibbs claimed that Gibbs’ past influences his legislative priorities. These include improving the lives of the district’s overly large number of tenant-in-public housing tenants, and making it more accessible for those released from prison to return to society.

When he was a teenager living in Upper Manhattan, illegal crack cocaine looked like the best way to get out of poverty. He now considers it a terrible mistake.

In an interview with the James Weldon Johnson Houses Community Center, he explained that “you didn’t have to think about any repercussions back then,” and that his mother is still living in one of the apartment towers. But I was also targeted by a lot people.

Gibbs claimed that an attacker attacked him at 17 in an elevator in an attempt to robbery. He was then stabbed in his leg. Gibbs was made to enter the safe at his home, where he found little other than the gun that Gibbs had used to shoot and kill the man.

Gibbs expressed regret, but also stressed that he was acting in self-defense. He turned himself in at the local police station. In Rikers Island, a notoriously violent prison in the city, Gibbs spent nearly a full year before finally pleading guilty for manslaughter to what he claimed was poor legal advice given by a public lawyer. He spent three years in various prisons around the city before being granted parole.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (majority leader, U.S. Senate) was one of many prominent New York politicians who spoke at the inauguration on Thursday.

“But did Eddie get angry?” Schumer stated at. “No. “No.

A spokeswoman for the New York Legislature said that Gibbs was not in possession of records to prove that he is their first elected representative. However, his Democratic counterparts welcomed him.

“We are proud to have such diversity in our conference,” speaker Carl Heastie stated in a statement. “And we are certain that his unique perspective and his commitment to his community will make the People’s House a great asset.”

Gibbs, who was released shortly after, took comedy classes. His stand-up show, Good Buddy, featured Gibbs, in hopes of countering the idea that people shouldn’t be afraid to speak out against someone convicted for a violent crime. Murray Richman was his celebrity criminal defense lawyer. He encouraged Gibbs to get into politics.

Gibbs was unsuccessful in his earlier attempt to win the seat at 68th district. He ended up becoming the Democratic Party’s District Leader, which is a voluntary position.

His first priority is to pass legislation that will remove certain obstacles youth in prison face when trying to secure state identification.

He stated, “When your come out of jail you have this reputation that you’re bad guys. I wanted to show the community a different view.”