Community Involvement

The Police Transparency Project, Board Member

Police Transparency Project (PTP) is a 501 (c) 3 organization that aims to ensure a just legal system by promoting transparency in law enforcement and criminal justice. Through our mission we identify, investigate and address police and prosecutorial misconduct in our legal system. Our data collection and analysis serve as a vital resource for attorneys, private investigators, and the wrongfully convicted during their criminal trials and appeals.

May 2021 to Present

Juvenile Aftercare Incorporated, Board Member

Recently created Non-profit organization dedicated to assisting juvenile justice involved young people returning from incarceration in the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area. In the process of submitting a proposal to the Baltimore City School system to open the school or this targeted population. Baltimore, Maryland.

January 2022 to present

Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia's Crowded Jails: The Search for Safe Solutions, Reader & Contributor

In the summer of 2009, Pew turned its attention to Philadelphia to study overcrowding in the City's jails; shortly thereafter the population began to decline.  This Report outlines the decade plus history behind this phenomenon and what made it happen.  It also recommends strategies for the future.

Mr. King volunteered a considerable amount of time to tutoring the Report's authors on the decade-long history of Philadelphia's struggle with overcrowding during his time as General Counsel and the  Commissioner of the Philadelphia Prison System, explained the reforms he helped institute, provided Pew with all of the relevant reports he authored or commissioned during this time (See the Reports Tab), made suggestions for future strategies, and proofread the final Report.

Click & view Report

Co-Chair, District Attorney's Transition Committee, Re-Entry

This Committee was formed in 2010 upon the election of the first African American District Attorney in the history of Pennsylvania, Seth Williams.  The Committee was asked to use its combined education and experience to advise District Attorney Williams on the steps that need to be taken in the areas of prisoner pre-entry and re-entry to enhance public safety in the City of Philadelphia. Upon consideration and reflection, the Committee unanimously made a series of sweeping and innovative recommendations. The Committee has now severed its formal relationship with the District Attorney, expanded its membership and is now known as the Coalition for Public Safety (CFPS). The CFPS is working to create new free enterprise based entrepreneurial opportunities for returning citizens (nee, ex-offenders).

Co-Chairs: Leon A. King II, Esq. &  Mr. Jeffery Brown; Members: Mr. Malik Aziz;  Dr. James Keely; Dr. Paul J. Fink; 
Paul Heroux, MPA, MS, MSc; Mr. C. B. Kimmons; Mr. John Lieb; Antoinette Aziz.

Click here to read the Report

Mentoring Kids in the Law

Volunteering since 1998 for Temple University School of Law’s Law Education and Participation (L.E.A.P.) Program, Leon King has lent his time to students at Northeast High School as a mock trial coach. Each year, high schools around the City compete in mock trials in either a criminal or civil case to win the honor of representing the state of Pennsylvania in the national competition.  As attorney coach, Mr. King is responsible for teaching the students how to conduct a trial and instructing them on the rules of evidence and trial procedure. During both his tenure with the city’s Law Department, and as commissioner of prisons, Mr. King kept his commitment to Northeast High School’s Mock Trial team and spending many Saturday mornings working with the kids in his conference room at the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility.

Click to learn more about Temple Law's L.E.A.P. program

Personally Intervening To Stop a Violent Crime during its Commission

In 1998, then Deputy City Solicitor King exited the rear of his condominium building and heard the shrieking screams of his neighbor. As he looked to his left he saw her belongings and pocketbook scattered about on the ground and a figure of a man beginning to run in his direction. Without hesitation, and unarmed, Mr. King ran in the path of the robber and rammed the man with his shoulder. A struggle ensued and in the middle of it the perpetrator pulled out a gun attempting to aim it Mr. King’s neck and head area. Mr. King was able to wrench the gun from the perpetrator’s hand, wrestle him to the ground, and immobilize him without throwing a punch or striking this individual. His time spent defending police officers came in handy as he instantly pushed the weapon from the subdued felon’s reach. His short time working in the District Attorney’s Office kicked in and he immediately called the victim over to take a good long look at the perpetrator’s face so that come time of the preliminary hearing and trial, there could be no mistake. After a successful prosecution by the District Attorney Office, this individual was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in state prison. Thereafter, at a ceremony at City Hall attended by Mayor Rendell and Commissioner Timoney, the Philadelphia Police Department awarded Mr. King with a citizen’s award for the bravery that he exhibited that evening. The Philadelphia Prison System similarly honored his efforts.

Click to enter

The "Agenda," Black Men in Crisis, Chair Criminal Justice Committee

"On September 30, 2010, 110 Black men came together to begin a dialogue that ultimately led to the development of a ten-year agenda aimed at addressing the crisis facing Black men in the City of Philadelphia.  Men from all walks of life attended the meeting – including the Mayor, the District Attorney, the Chair of the School Reform Commission, leadership of the local NAACP, businessmen, community activists, religious leaders (from a variety of backgrounds), doctors, and educators, etc.

The result of this gathering was an agreement to develop/produce an Agenda for action, along with a relevant plan of action-steps. Our resolve to form this Agenda is accompanied by an understanding that these issues are long-standing and trans-generational; hence we recognize that our efforts will require a long-term commitment connected to a passionate and patient pursuit of our agreed upon objectives. Because we all differ, we may all employ differing skills and tools in our working together, but we must be single in our agreement to work cooperatively in order to form, and execute the Agenda that we develop." (Source, " The Agenda).

Click here to read the "Agenda" Report

Educating and Raising Awareness of the Law, the Criminal Justice System, and Government

Throughout his career in public service, Leon King has been deeply committed to education about the law, the criminal justice system, and the government even outside of his official capacity as a deputy city solicitor, general counsel, and commissioner of the city prisons. King’s unpaid lectures and classes at Temple University, Alvernia University, Chaney University, Community College of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, in addition to numerous career days and related events at elementary, high schools, and community events across the City. For the first three years of his present employment as an adjunct professor at Drexel University, King demonstrated his commitment to educating younger generations about criminal justice policy by receiving no compensation for his services from the University.

Click to enter

Click to enter

East Mount Airy Neighbors (EMAN), Past Board Member

"Two hundred years ago, "Mount Airy" was the estate of William Allen, a well-known country gentleman of Ben Franklin's time. Allen's mansion was located close to "Main Street", where the Lutheran Theological Seminary now stands, on Germantown Avenue at Allens Lane. The village that grew up around the mansion was also known as "Mount Airy". As more and more houses replaced farmland, it became a residential community, eventually growing into the urban neighborhood it is today." (Source, E.M.A.N., Website).

"The area is recognized by many civil right groups as one of the first successfully integrated neighborhoods in America.  Mount Airy residents organized to resist blockbusting, panic selling, and redlining especially during the period from the late 1950s to the early 1970s when those practices were prevalent.  It continues to be a well-blended neighborhood and was recently cited in Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine for its racial diversity and neighborhood appeal. The community has also been recognized by U.S News and World Report for racial harmony and balance." (Source, Wikipedia).

Click to learn about Mount Airy

Click to learn about EMAN: Join ?

Educating Fellow Lawyers on the Issues Surrounding Litigation Where they undertook Pro Bono Representation of Inmates

From approximately 1994 to 2001, Leon King volunteered his time to educate fellow members of the Bar concerning the litigation process involved in representing an inmate plaintiff in the federal Courts. King aimed to minimize lawyers’ confusion, which often slowed the judicial process down and allowed frivolous lawsuits to clog the system. He also sought to emphasize the progressive, problem solving, philosophy he had cultivated as a deputy city solicitor, and as general counsel of the Philadelphia Prison System. Each year he served as one lecturer in a continuing legal education course moderated by Steve Brown of Dechert, Price and Rhodes, with David Rudovsky and other attorneys participating. This class was sponsored by the judges of the Pro Se Panel of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Click to enter

Registering and Educating Voters & First Prison Mayoral Debate

Working with the City Commissioner’s Office, Leon King established the first official voter registration policy in any urban jail. Given that Pennsylvania pre-trial detainees can vote while incarcerated, the program aimed to enhance the rehabilitation process by making inmates aware of their voting rights and to exercising their civic duty to vote in federal, state, and municipal elections. As part of the process, volunteer advocacy groups provided voter educations classes, voter registration drives, and the Board of Elections administered absentee balloting in each of the six City jails. This process culminated in 2007 with the first political forum held inside any jail in the country, with Democratic mayoral candidate Michal A. Nutter, and Republican candidate Al Taubenberger participating.

Click to enter

Educating and Organizing the entire City to Fight Crime - Sharon Baptist Church

Recognizing that ending the cycle of crime cannot be accomplished by the police, the courts, and the prison system alone, Leon King convened the first city-wide re-entry summit at Sharon Baptist Church. Leon King gathered over 800 citizens and ex-offenders, from various disciplines, neighborhoods, and faith-based organizations to present statistics on incarceration, and to facilitate discussion on the problem of criminal justice in Philadelphia. At the end of the summit, recommendations were complied and forwarded to the Street Administration for implementation. Coordination of this important issue was then taken over by the Office of the Mayor, and the success of the summit and its recommendations served as part of the foundation for the current Mayor’s Office for the Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders (M.O.R.E.).

Click to enter

Creating Job Opportunities

In 2001, then chief legal counsel for the Philadelphia Prison System negotiated an end to the decades long prison conditions lawsuit Jackson v. Hendrick, with renounced civil rights attorney David Rudovsky. Instead of paying settlement money directly to inmates, the taxpayer dollars set aside to pay the settlement were designated by agreement for programs to benefit the inmate class. A portion of that money was used to create the JOBS Project during his tenure as commissioner of prisons. The JOBS Project was a first of its kind in that the Prison System partnered with outside community groups, who actually came inside the walls to begin the re-entry process with inmates, and then took over responsibility for them upon release to ensure that they obtained employment in order to reduce recidivism. While inside the walls, these inmates were placed in therapeutic living environments where prison social workers worked with JOBS Project community groups to provide job readiness training, G.E.D. classes, anger management, parenting and other training to prepare inmates for release. 55% of those inmates who were released and reported to a reentry partner found employment, and as of January of 2008, only 18% of those who were released returned to prison, as compared to a national return rate ranging from 50% – 70%. This program was subsumed by the Mayor's Office of Re-Entry. 

JOBS project photographs by Harvey Finkle, Click here

Supporting Law Enforcement in Remembering the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks of 9-11

In September 2006, Leon King was approached by law enforcement officers from the Police, Sheriff, and Prisons departments in Philadelphia looking for help raising money to erect a monument for some of the heroes of the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Their specific interest was to raise funds for a permanent memorial in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, for the passengers of Flight 93 who intervened and gave their lives to stop a terrorist attack on the White House. They needed a free place for the police officers, correctional officers and sheriff deputies, who would participate in a fund raising motorcycle run to the crash site to gather to begin the run. They also were looking for some donations of early morning refreshments, a sound system, and a high ranking law enforcement official to officiate at the send off ceremony. Leon King rose to the challenge and offered the parking lot of the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility for this purpose. Working with Aramark Corporation he was able to obtain donated morning refreshments, and provided a sound system, podium, and a prison Chaplain to bless them on their ride. He also rose and arrived at this fundraiser at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday to give the officers an encouraging word. He then personally escorted them to the County line in his vehicle, along with an escort provided by the Philadelphia Police Department, where the Bensalem Police Department took over the escort. Leon King was the only head of a law enforcement agency in the City to make this personal commitment. This tradition was repeated in 2007 and to his great credit, the current Prison Commissioner, Louis Giorla, has continued this practice during his term as commissioner. Mr. King continues to serve as Legal Counsel for the Brothers.

Brothers of Flight 93 Click to enter

Organizing a Specific Neighborhood to Fight Crime

Continuing with the proposition that community involvement was key to criminal justice reform, and recognizing that the government cannot direct or fund the solution to every problem, Leon King initiated the Frankford Roundtable. The idea sprang from a report Mr. King commissioned of the Philadelphia Prison System conducted by the widely respected Urban Institute of Washington, DC. Utilizing the services of a professional facilitator, Leon King gathered members of the faith-based, business, and civic communities of Frankford, to organize to provide services to inmates released from the Prison System that resided before their arrest in Frankford. After a series of discussion meetings, the neighborhood formed a non-profit corporation to provide housing, employment, and their services to neighborhood residents who were ex-offenders. Internally, the Philadelphia Prison System provided a housing area where the Frankford residents could reside together as the Frankford community came behind the walls to start to the process of re-entry prior to the release of these inmates. This program was subsumed by the Mayor’s Office for the Re-entry of Ex-Offenders.

Click to learn more about the Frankford section of the City of Philadelphia

Partnering with Mother's in Charge

Leon King also championed community involvement in the fight against crime and recidivism by joining with Mother’s in Charge, a support and advocacy group for Mothers of murdered sons and daughters, to provide mentoring and other services to the juveniles inmates of the Philadelphia Prison System. This program brings mothers, community leaders, ex-offenders, and educators inside the prison walls to begin forming relationships that would extend outside the walls and help to decrease the cycle of violence in our City.

Click to enter

Creating Healthy Nutritional alternatives, Job Training and Opportunity

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society approached Leon King in 2004 with a plan to re-vitalize the long abandoned greenhouse on the prison and thereby benefit two very needy segments of the citizens of our City. Leon King was able to scrutinize his very tight budget and come up with enough money to add to the grants the Horticultural Society obtained to accomplish this task. In partnership with this community organization the greenhouse was refurbished and inmates now grow vegetable seedlings with are then transported to neighborhood gardens, grown to maturity and then distributed to various site around the city for distribution to nutritionally challenged families. In the process, inmates receive training in employable skills, such as landscaping and hardscaping.  At the time Leon King left the employ of the Prison System, plans were under way for a formal relationship with area contractors to tailor the training for their needs, and to start a formal process of hiring for inmates released from the Philadelphia Prison System.

Click to enter

Partnering with the Boy Scouts of America to Shape Young Minds

One of the finest programs offered by the Boy Scouts of America’s Cradle of Liberty Council, is the Exploring Program which partners with other law enforcement agencies like the Philadelphia Police Department. The Philadelphia Police Department Program takes young people through the process of the training required to be come a police officer, teaches kids about career opportunities, life skills, citizenship, character education, and leadership experience. Then Commissioner King though it was important to provide the same services to kids, but tailoring the program so that kids understood the role of corrections and rehabilitation in the criminal justice system. In cooperation with Cradle of Liberty Council, a series of fundraisers were held which culminated in the creation of the first correctional Explorer’s Program in Pennsylvania.

Click to enter

Former Board Member, William Way Community Center

The William Way Community Center seeks to encourage, support, and advocate for the well-being and acceptance of sexual and gender minorities through service, recreational, educational, and cultural programming. Founded in 1976 as the Gay Community Center of Philadelphia the William Way Community Center has a 35 year history of serving the LGBT community in the Philadelphia region.

The Center purchased its current building in 1997, and the building opened to the public in July 1997. Since then, the Center has developed an array of programming. Additionally, 14 community based organizations call the Center home, over 85 more use the venue on a regular basis. The building is open seven days a week and is currently used by over 4,500 people each month.

Click here to learn more and to join us

Partnering with Philadelphia Mural Arts to Provide Art, Activity, and Jobs – Restorative Justice

Anyone who has met Jane Golden, the Director of the Mural Arts Program in the City of Philadelphia, is mesmerized by her commitment to change the world though art. Ms. Golden had that same effect on Commissioner King. Together they partnered and raised money to greatly increase the scope of the Mural Arts Program at the Philadelphia Prison System. Inmates partnered with artists and created numerous murals throughout the prison campus on State Road. The most notable being a five story mural on the side of the Riverside Correctional Facility. This mural, the first we know of on any urban jail in the country, provides enjoyment for visitors and staff of the facility, as well as those visitors to Pennypack Park. Commissioner King and Ms. Golden also cooperated for the first time to add a formal re-entry component to this program to provide inmates with jobs as artists after release.

"The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program’s Restorative Justice Program incorporates the victim, offender, their families, and the community in the healing process, through art instruction, mural making, and community service work within the criminal justice system.  Current inmates, ex-offenders, and juvenile delinquents are given the opportunity to learn new skills and make a positive contribution to their communities to repair the prior harm they may have caused.  Mural Arts provides art instruction to over 300 adults involved in the criminal justice system and 200 juveniles every year, through a multitude of projects."  Source, City of Philadelphia, Mural Arts Program Website.

"Coming Home" Riverside Correctional Facility

City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Click to enter

Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library, Past Advisory Board Member

"After the end of  the American Civil War, organizations were formed for veterans to network and maintain connections with each other. Many of the veterans used their shared experiences as a basis for fellowship. Groups of men began joining together, first for camaraderie and later for political power. Emerging as most influential among the various organizations was the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), founded on April 6, 1866, on the principles of "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty," in Decatur, Illinois, by Benjamin F. Stephenson. (Source, Wikipedia)

"Nestled amid row homes on a small street in Northeast Philadelphia , the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library has often been referred to in newspaper articles as “one of the hidden treasures of Philadelphia.” The museum, which occupies a three story brick building built by Dr. John Ruan in 1796, is home to a unique and historic collection of Civil War and Grand Army of the Republic artifacts, books, and memorabilia. In 1985, the building was placed on the Register of National Historic Sites and designated as the “Ruan House.This treasure trove was originally the property of G.A.R. Post #2 of Philadelphia and the G.A.R. Department of Pennsylvania." (Source, GARML Website)

Click to enter

Raising Money for Those in Need – The City of Philadelphia’s Combined Campaign

Since 1989 the employees of the City of Philadelphia have given over 25 million dollars in payroll deductions and one time gifts to charities through the City’s yearly “Combined Campaign”. The Combined Campaign gives money to groups, such as The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania; Bread and Roses Community Fund; Catholics Charities Appeal; The United Negro College Fund; The Police Athletic League; Global Impact, and Federation Allied Jewish Appeal. The Campaign is coordinated by the Center for Responsible Funding.  In the 2006 – 2007 campaign, Commissioner King served as Campaign Chair, along with Co-Chairs Thomas Paine Cronin, President, AFSCME DC47, and Pete Matthews, President, AFSCME DC33. In addition to raising over 1 million dollars for charity, Mr. King worked with the Fraternal Order of Police President John McNesby and secured the participation of the Philadelphia Police Department in the campaign after many years of non-participation.

Mothers in Charge - Past Board Member

The mission of Mothers In Charge is violence prevention, education and intervention for youth, young adults, families and community organizations.

In addition, Mothers In Charge works with elected officials on legislation to support safe neighborhoods and communities for children and families and collaborates with community and faith based organizations.
Mothers In Charge will advocate for families affected by violence and provide counseling and grief support services for families when a loved one has been murdered. Mothers In

Charge is comprised of impassioned mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and sisters who are committed to working towards savings lives. Most of the members have experienced the horror of having a son or daughter or loved one murdered. Because of the death and the life of their loved one, each mother and member is committed to saving lives and preventing another mother from having to experience this terrible tragedy.
Each mother, sister, aunt, or grandmother brings a special gift to this organization and its mission. Their passion and drive comes from within because each one of these brave women has somehow found the strength to attempt to turn a personal tragedy into a medium for change. They realize that positive change cannot happen within communities without addressing the issue of senseless and random violence. They know that in the names of their lost sons and daughters, they can and must serve as the catalyst for change.

Attic Youth Center - Past Board Member

The Attic Youth Center creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to develop into healthy, independent, civic-minded adults within a safe and supportive community, and promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ youth in society.

Renewed Heart Ministries - Past Board Member

Renewed Heart Ministries is a non-profit teaching ministry that is passionate about following Jesus and sharing Jesus’ teachings with others. We believe Jesus gave us a way to heal our world. We believe Jesus gave us a new, revolutionary way of doing life, rooted in a radical rearrangement of how we picture God, ourselves and everyone else around us. Jesus’ teachings, we believe, offer something for both Christian and Non-Christian alike. We believe Jesus’ teachings are relevant for all, regardless of religious persuasion, but especially for those who have been hurt by religion or who genuinely feel they don’t have one religious bone in their bodies. Jesus’ teachings transcend religious lines as well as the boundaries of culture, gender, race, economic status, and orientation.

REACH Philadelphia - Legal Advisor and Youth Tutor

REACH is a vibrant church community in the Philadelphia metro area that embraces and empowers people of all ages and from all backgrounds. This church is a missional body focused on discipleship, mission, and community. As part of our commitment to training young leaders, we've developed a 2-year internship program that features classroom instruction, practical ministry application, missions, and training. REACH has two ministry houses set up, which serve two purposes for ministry: to house ministry interns and to serve the neighborhood where they are. Ministry Houses are a center of ministry activity - including community Bible studies, interest groups, and social events.

Click to enter