Alexander McLean | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985 (age 39–40) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Nottingham, University of London |
| Known for | Founder of African Prisons Project |
Alexander McLean (born 1985) is a British activist, [1] humanitarian, [2] and lawyer. [3] He is the founder of Justice Defenders (formerly African Prisons Project, or APP), which is based in Uganda and seeks to improve the lives of people imprisoned in Africa. [1]
McLean was born in 1985 [2] and grew up in the "southern outskirts of London." [4] His father is Jamaican and worked as a retired tool maker while his mother was from Surrey and worked for United Airways. [2] He has an older brother and sister. [2]
McLean attended Kingston Grammar School, having been awarded a scholarship. [2] At a young age, he became fascinated with social issues and the criminal justice system. [2] [3] In his teens, he worked for a quadriplegic who suffered from multiple sclerosis and volunteered at a hospice. [2]
After high school, McLean visited Uganda to volunteer as a hospice worker [3] at the Mulago hospital in Kampala. [5] There, he was motivated to start Justice Defenders in 2007 [6] after observing that prison inmates were not given proper medical care [2] [7] and seeing the conditions at Luzira Upper Prison. [8] After coming back to the United Kingdom, McLean fund-raised to provide good health facilities and educate inmates in Ugandan prisons about the law, beginning the organization. [6] [9]
McLean attended the University of Nottingham, graduating in 2007. [1] He was the first in his family to earn a university degree. [4] After graduation, he moved to Kampala, where he created a team of local and international staff and volunteers with the goal of professionalizing the African Prisons Project and increasing its impact. [1]
McLean studied at the University of London by correspondence, receiving a Master of Laws in 2009 and being called to the bar of England and Wales in 2010. [1]