Defining new ways to hold kids accountable

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The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth brought together experts, national partners, litigators, advocates and directly impacted individuals for our annual National Convening on November 13-15. During the convening, we celebrated our successes and charted a path for our future work.

The panel of experts discussed alternatives to the use of life without the possibility of parole sentences for children during the opening plenary.

Noting that the United States has not always relied on the adult criminal justice system and extreme sentences to hold children accountable for serious crimes, panelists discussed the ground-breaking work that is being undertaken to develop and implement strategies for holding children accountable in age-appropriate ways that focus on their capacity for change and rehabilitation.

Among the panelists was Dr. Gregory Van Rybroek, director of the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin. The Institute includes a secure correctional facility for juveniles, providing intensive mental health interventions and behavior modification. The program has been documented to have lower rates of recidivism and lower long-term costs that traditional prison programs.

Other panelists were:

Elizabeth Calvin, senior advocate in the Children Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, who has been a leader in successful efforts to pass Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 260 in California, which reform the ways that youth are held accountable.
Joan Goldfrank, former magistrate judge in the Superior Court in the District of Columbia, who implemented an innovative juvenile mental health diversion court.
Arlene Lee of the National Academy of Sciences.
Senator Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, Texas, vice chairman of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee and an advocate for meaningful reform of juvenile sentencing laws.

Michigan ruling a bright spot as litigators challenge JLWOP sentences

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A federal judge in Michigan has declared that every person who has served 10 years of a life sentence for a crime that occurred when he or she was under 18 is eligible for parole consideration.

U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O’Meara, responding to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by attorney and CFSY board member Deborah LaBelle, said the state must immediately develop a system that guarantees a meaningful opportunity for release. The judge also required the parole board to explain in writing any decision to deny a parole application.

This ruling is one of the high points in litigation efforts as lawyers throughout the country continue their work in both state and federal courts to end the practice of imposing extreme sentences upon children.  And, while there have been a number of new and sometimes unexpected challenges during the past year, there have also been tremendous strides toward our goal of ensuring that all children are held accountable for their actions in an age-appropriate manner.

Attorneys committed to the abolition of sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes committed as children have continued to make the Miller v. Alabama U.S. Supreme Court decision meaningful by arguing that everyone currently serving unconstitutional sentences is now entitled to a new sentencing hearing in which life without parole would not be the only option.  The United States Department of Justice has taken the position that Miller is retroactive and applies to everyone serving a mandatory life without parole sentence for a crime that occurred when the person was under 18, but some state level prosecutors have continued to resist this aspect of Miller implementation.

Thus far, five state supreme courts have ruled on this particular issue.  Iowa and Mississippi both issued unanimous opinions holding that Miller, like Graham v. Florida and Roper v. Simmons before it, should be applied retroactively, even for people who exhausted their direct appeals years ago.  No matter what happens in any other jurisdiction, these decisions mean that people in these states will get their days in court.  However, Minnesota and Pennsylvania both held that Miller only applies to new cases and people who were on direct appeal when the case was decided last year.  And the Supreme Court of Louisiana, which had been granting motions for resentencing, recently reversed itself, agreeing with the courts in Minnesota and Pennsylvania that Miller is not retroactive.  A number of other state supreme courts are also currently considering this issue and we can expect decisions in Massachusetts, Michigan, Florida, Washington, and Illinois in the coming months.  Additional states supreme courts will also certainly weigh in as well.

The situation in federal courts is also mixed.  Two federal Circuits, the Fifth and the Eleventh, fairly quickly held that Miller was not retroactive, although the Fifth later de-published its opinion and is, therefore, not binding precedent.  None of the other circuits have yet had the opportunity to consider the issue of Miller retroactivity.  Many of these courts have granted preliminary motions allowing the cases to move forward but none have addressed the issue directly.  Currently, having granted these initial motions, the Fourth and the Eighth Circuits have appeals pending.  Regardless of how these cases turn out, it is very likely that the United States Supreme Court will ultimately be called on to make a final decision on this issue.

Working together to repair the soul of our nation

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As we reflect on our work together this year, we consider the words of Nelson Mandela, the freedom fighter and former president of South Africa: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

What, then, can we say about the soul of the United States?  We are the only country in the world that sentences our children – our most vulnerable population –  to die in prison.  These final, irrevocable judgments continue despite a trio of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that children are categorically different from adults and should not be subject to our nation’s harshest punishments. The sentences continue despite adolescent development research documenting that children do not have the same ability as adults to think through the long-term consequences of their actions or resist pressure from peers or older people and they have a unique capacity to change. We have made strides in recent years to scale back extreme sentences for children and there is more work to do.

As we look to 2014, we anticipate new challenges in state legislatures where many policymakers seek to implement measures that fail to fulfill the spirit or letter of last year’s Miller v. Alabama ruling, which found that it is unconstitutional to impose a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for a crime committed as a child. We will continue to partner with our colleagues on the ground to obtain meaningful reforms that hold children accountable for their crimes, provide them with opportunities for rehabilitation, and check back in on them later to see if they are ready to be reintegrated into society.

We also expect significant more courts to weigh in regarding whether the Miller decision should be applied to the approximately 2,500 people already serving these sentences or only to those who faced with this punishment after June 2012 when the ruling was issued. We believe that it is fundamentally unfair for the date when a person was sentenced to determine whether or not they will die in prison for a crime committed when they were a child.

In the midst of these challenges, we are heartened by and hopeful because of the broadening movement for reform. More policymakers, opinion leaders and national organizations have expressed their support for change. Many of them joined with directly impacted individuals for our recent Healing & Hope awards reception and for our annual convening, where we celebrated our successes and set a course for the future.

During the South African revolution, the people directly impacted were the leaders and on the front lines working to ensure the injustice of apartheid was ended. So too are formerly incarcerated youth and the family members of children sentenced  to life without parole, and family members of victims of youth violence leading the charge for reform of our sentencing laws.As we celebrate the life and legacy of President Mandela, who died last week, we are excited to continue our work alongside these remarkable individuals and in partnership with you to make sure the United States treasures all of its children, even those who make serious mistakes.

Thank you for all you do to ensure our society is one that focuses on our children’s potential to do great things rather than one willing to discard them for life based on their greatest failures.

Warmest wishes for a peaceful holiday season and New Year,

Jody Kent Lavy

P.S. If you have not already, please consider supporting the CFSY with a tax-deductible donation.

National Coalition Asks Americans to ‘Stand Up’ to JLWOP

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By James Swift
JJIE

December 17, 2013

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is asking individuals across the United States to mark their locations on a virtual map, in an online display of solidarity against the practice of placing juvenile offenders in jail for life.

The promotion, Stand Up for Fair Sentencing, allows Web visitors to list themselves on a map, which is color-coordinated to display the total number of prisoners sentenced for crimes committed as juveniles who are now serving life without parole in each state.

“This project is really meant to be a mobilizing tool to engage people interested in taking a stand for the fair sentencing of youth,” said Jody Kent Lavy, director and national coordinator for the organization.

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Lost justice in a lost life

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The Virginian-Pilot

Two years ago, four teenagers who beat up a boy in South Norfolk turned on former NFL player Ed Beard, who had been riding his bike nearby.

As part of a gang initiation, the teens, ages 15 to 17, kicked and punched the 71-year-old former linebacker, knocking him unconscious and leaving him with a gash on his head.

The case outraged Hampton Roads, as it should have.

Those teens, charged with malicious wounding by mob, were appropriately sent to prison. Three of them were ordered to complete a “youthful offender” program that typically lasts four years and involves counseling, schooling and job training – a program that works to turn around teens in prison and prepare them for eventual release.

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Michigan Attorney General to Appeal Order Giving Juvenile Lifers Chance for Parole

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December 2, 2013

By Gary Gately
JJIE

Michigan’s attorney general announced Monday that he will appeal a federal judge’s order requiring the state to consider paroling about 350 prisoners serving life sentences without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles.

“First-degree murder is a serious crime, and it carries with it serious consequences,” AG Bill Schuette said in a news release.

“In every case where a juvenile is sentenced to life in prison, a victim was already sentenced to death – forever. The victim’s family then grapples with the aftermath of post-traumatic stress, depression, unyielding grief and visits to a grave.”

He said last week’s order would force families of murder victims to “relive the crime that took their loved ones away.”

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Teen killers -- sentenced for up to life terms in San Quentin Prison

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December 1, 2013
MercuryNews.com

SAN QUENTIN — Michael Nelson doesn’t look like a killer.

He is handsome and well-groomed. His voice is gentle, his demeanor polite. You wouldn’t flinch if he approached you on a dark and empty sidewalk.

But when he was 15, Nelson sneaked up behind a middle-aged man and cracked his skull with a baseball bat. Then he watched a friend finish off the victim with a knife. Charged as an adult, Nelson pleaded guilty in 1998 to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life.

Fifteen years later, it’s hard to reconcile such gruesome violence with the articulate 31-year-old man holding a discussion in a classroom at San Quentin State Prison, where Nelson leads a notable group of 16 inmates. The men are all “juvenile lifers,” serving up to life in prison with the possibility of parole for murders committed while under the age of 18.

The group calls itself  Kid CAT. “Kid” refers to the age when the men committed their crimes. “CAT” stands for “creating awareness together.”

Even at a prison known for its rehabilitative programs, the men have drawn acclaim for their focus on self-improvement through education and counseling. Scott Budnick, a Hollywood producer and advocate for juvenile justice reform, is one of many people, from educators to politicians, who have met and lauded the group.

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A champion for justice

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We honor the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and freedom fighter.

Federal judge orders Michigan to implement parole process for children serving life sentences

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A United States District Court judge in Michigan has ordered the state to immediately comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama by making everyone serving life sentences for crimes that occurred when they were under 18 immediately parole eligible if they have served at least 10 years in prison.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John O’Meara emphasized the need for parole opportunities to be “fair, meaningful, and realistic,” and included certain requirements to ensure this is the case.  They include:

a)      The state must give notice to all of these individuals that their parole eligibility will be considered in a meaningful and realistic manner.

b)      In making a determination of parole eligibility, the parole board is required to set forth an explanation of its reasoning.

c)       Sentencing judges are prohibited from vetoing parole decisions.

d)      No person sentenced to life without parole for crimes that occurred when they were under 18 shall be denied access to any educational or training program that is available to the general population.

The state is required to submit a program compliant with these requirements by January 31.  If the state fails to do so, the court may appoint a Special Master to fashion appropriate relief.

The decision applies retroactively to the more than 350 people sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed as children in Michigan.

Congratulations to Michigan attorney Deb LaBelle, the ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan for this outstanding win. LaBelle is a member of the CFSY Board of Directors.

Read the statement from the ACLU of Michigan

Read the ruling

Read a news story about the decision

A reason for hope

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Ralph Brazel and his mother, Esi Mathis, cheer after they are introduced during Healing & Hope 2013. Ralph was sentenced to three terms of life without the possibility of parole when he was 17. He became eligible for relief after the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Graham v. Florida, which found that it is unconstitutional to sentence a child to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a non-homicide crime. Ralph was released earlier this year, two month before his 40th birthday.