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

3

Health care industry is hiring despite a job market that has cooled

April 16, 2026

The US labor market has cooled but the demand for health care workers, expecially skilled nurses, remains strong. Interviews with UC College of Nursing admininstrators Dr. Donna Green and Dr. Lindsay Davis were part of a WCPO segment on health care industry hiring.