Georgia, passed away August 3,2016 in Denver, Colorado, where he
was residing and practicing law. Roscoe is survived by his 10 month old
son, Leo David Heaton of Denver, Colorado; his beloved aunt Bobbie
and uncle Dave Bennett of Newnan, Georgia; brothers, Justin Hannah
and Eric Hannah, both of Panama City, Florida. From convicted felon to
law school grad. Quite a tale, but one worth telling, for Heaton has
overcome obstacles through resiliency, perseverance and persistence.
"Roscoe is a testament to the fact that there are no throw-away people
and that, given the right support system, faith and resources, the cycles
of poverty and incarceration can be broken." Levy-Pounds said. Heaton
was forced to grow up too fast in downtown Atlanta. He fell in with the
wrong crowd while in high school - binge drinking and committing
petty crimes. Then came August 14, 1991 - the day Heaton turned 17 -
when he was accused of pointing a gun at a neighborhood youth and
threatening to blow his head off. Heaton told a different story to cops -
he was confronting a bully who was picking on one of his younger half
brothers. The accosted youth's mom pressed charges. Heaton was
convicted and sentenced to a four-year prison term, of which he served
32 months. But prison may have been the best thing for Heaton. It was
there he got his GED as well as his desire to go to college and become a
lawyer. It was there "I saw my future. I did not want to keep coming
back. That's when I decided to change my life." Scoring 1,360 out of
1,600 on his SAT test, Heaton first enrolled in Georgia's Young Harris
College. He became president of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He
kept his electronic ankle bracelet - a condition of his early parole - out
of view. He transferred to Emory in 1999 and graduated with honors.
But he found out his felony record trumped a college degree, even from
a prestigious university. He applied for white-collar and social-service
jobs and frequently got second interviews. But the criminal-background
checks snuffed out any desires to hire him. He wrote to judges,
politicians and the local media about his frustrations trying to find a job.
The 2005 newspaper profile led to jobs at a cabinet shop and a gym. He
used his savings to establish Flowers for Heaven. For a fee, Heaton
delivered flowers and tended to gravesites. The self-employed business
did well enough for Heaton to support himself. But his desire was to go
to law school, become a criminal -defense attorney and provide topquality
legal representation for indigent clients. He applied to more than
20 law schools. He answered the felon question truthfully . None
accepted him. The common explanation: He did not meet the school's
academic criteria. On a dare, he applied to five other law schools but did
not admit he was a convicted felon. All five accepted him. Then, one
day he spotted online a free application offer from St. Thomas School of
Law. The school accepted him, despite his felony. He headed north.
While juggling law classes, Heaton performed more than 500 hours of
community pro bono work and developed a business model for
Brotherhood Inc., a nonprofit that provides job skills and other service to
at-risk African-American youths in St. Paul. He also clerked for the
ACLU and the federal public defender offices in Washington, D.C. He
spoke to inmates at state prisons here about his experiences. He made
the dean's list and was editor of the law school's Journal of Law and
Public Policy. Heaton then accepted a job as a law clerk with the
Colorado State Public Defender office. He took the bar exam and began
working cases once he got his license. Roscoe practiced with the public
defender office until October 2015. So on January 1,2016 he went into
private practice in Denver, Roscoe Law. There he was able to pick his
clients of which most had the least but needed the most help and this
helped satisfy the need to help others, during which time he felt he was
able to truly use his talents and experience to the full extent he wanted.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, August 16th at 1 o'clock at Spring
Hill. Interment Crestlawn Memorial Park. The family will receive
friends one hour prior to the service at H. M. Patterson & Son, Spring
Hill Chapel, 1020 Spring Street, NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30309.
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