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Cyntoia Brown Granted Clemency

Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced he had granted clemency to Cyntoia Brown, who has been serving a life sentence since killing her abuser when she was 16. CFSY Youth Justice Advocate Eric Alexander released the following statement: I am very proud of my home state of Tennessee today after our Governor’s decision to grant […]

ICAN members, CFSY staff gather for self-care convening

The pilot ICAN self-care and community building convening brought more than a dozen members of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN) together from July 1-3, 2018 at the University of Scranton’s Conference and Retreat Center at Chapman lake to rest and renew, while also developing and deepening personal and professional relationships, and learning strategies to […]

OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE PASSES INHUMANE & UNCONSTITUTIONAL YOUTH SENTENCING BILL, COULD BECOME NATIONAL OUTLIER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 2, 2018 Media Contact: Karmah Elmusa | kelmusa@cfsy.org | 202-289-4677 ext. 113 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE PASSES INHUMANE & UNCONSTITUTIONAL YOUTH SENTENCING BILL, COULD BECOME NATIONAL OUTLIER Law would be the worst among states that have passed legislation following U.S. Supreme Court mandate in Montgomery v. Louisiana May 2, 2018, Washington, DC –– […]

ICAN Profile: Kim Simmons

At age 17, Kimberly Simmons was an expectant mother who was charged with first degree felony murder and was later sentenced to serve her the rest of her life in prison. Today, at 47, Kimberly is a free woman who is a member of ICAN, and is discovering what it is like to live as […]

JLWOP in the 2018 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen

You can’t go much of anywhere in March without finding yourself in a conversation about the NCAA Basketball Championship — better known as ‘March Madness’ — and it’s similarly difficult to spend much time in our office without quickly gaining a handle on JLWOP and other extreme sentences for you in states across the country. […]

From the Desk of the Director: Black History Month

Dear friends, As Black History Month draws to a close, we are particularly mindful of the devastating impact of the “superpredator theory,” a racially biased, scientifically deficient idea suggesting that black teenagers are hyper-criminal. This reactionary premise has shaped a generation of youth sentencing laws and contributed to a climate in which it is socially, […]