CFSY joins Changing Minds Campaign kickoff at White House

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On Wednesday, October 19th, CFSY Youth Justice Advocate Xavier McElrath-Bey and Executive Director Jody Kent Lavy joined Futures Without Violence, the Defending Childhood Initiative, the U.S Department of Justice, and many of our nation’s leaders at the White House to launch the Changing Minds Campaign—a national movement to address the needs of children who are impacted by violence and trauma.

We are grateful for the opportunity to share our efforts to end life without parole for children and why “no child is born bad,” to remind others that most people who were given extreme prison sentences in childhood were also once victims of violence and trauma and that our responsibility to our children should not end the moment they make a horrible decision or mistake. We should never give up and always strive to ensure healing and a second chance.

October is Youth Justice Awareness Month!

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October has been Youth Justice Awareness Month (YJAM) since 2008. During YJAM, people across the country have organized events that have helped to raise awareness, strengthen coalitions, and build campaigns to keep children out of the adult criminal justice system. For the second straight year, President Obama has formalized October as Youth Justice Awareness Month with a Presidential Proclamation.

Throughout October, the CFSY will run a series of blogs and social media posts highlighting YJAM, our work within broader juvenile justice advocacy, and our conviction that “no child is born bad”. Stay tuned to this page for updates as they come!

October 6: Kicking off our YJAM blog series with commentary from CFSY Executive Director Jody Kent Lavy

October is Youth Justice Awareness Month – as proclaimed by President Obama — and we are celebrating and honoring all of the hard work of community leaders, advocates, coalition builders, legislative champions, judicial officials, defenders, and directly impacted individuals who seek to ensure that our country holds children accountable in age-appropriate ways that account for their experiences with trauma and their capacity to grow and change.

Our partners at the Campaign for Youth Justice started Youth Justice Awareness Month in 2008 to draw attention to the need to end the prosecution of youth in the adult criminal justice system. As awareness has grown, so have opportunities to create change, so the founders have decided to focus this year and in the future on transforming awareness into action. We are thrilled to join them in their efforts.

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October 13: Redeemed Juveniles Like Me Are Not the Exception from CFSY Youth Justice Advocate Xavier McElrath-Bey

Today is special for me for several reasons.

For starters, I will have the honor of spending much of the day in a symposium at San Quentin State Prison in California. I especially look forward to sharing time with the members of KID C.A.T. (Creating Awareness Together), a group of individuals who were sentenced to life without parole when they were children. After years of incarceration, they created their own support group with a mission to organize acts of community service and goodwill.

During my first two visits to San Quentin earlier this year, I learned about the group’s  past activities, which have included conducting food and hygiene product drives for the homeless, fundraising to sponsor youth involvement in community programs, raising awareness and money for cancer research, and folding hundreds of origami hearts for kids at Oakland’s Children’s Hospital. All these activities took place behind the walls of San Quentin and were facilitated by people once considered to be heartless, remorseless monsters as a result of the now-disproven “superpredator theory.”

I am not surprised by their efforts. I recognize that their actions are the reflections of an eternal apology that I, too, am living out. Fourteen years ago today, at age 26, I walked out of the prison gates with a remorseful heart and a mission to advocate on behalf of children who are exposed to violence and the justice system. After pleading guilty to murder, I had been incarcerated half of my life.

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October is Youth Justice Awareness Month

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October is Youth Justice Awareness Month – as proclaimed by President Obama — and we are celebrating and honoring all of the hard work of community leaders, advocates, coalition builders, legislative champions, judicial officials, defenders, and directly impacted individuals who seek to ensure that our country holds children accountable in age-appropriate ways that account for their experiences with trauma and their capacity to grow and change.

Our partners at the Campaign for Youth Justice started Youth Justice Awareness Month in 2008 to draw attention to the need to end the prosecution of youth in the adult criminal justice system. As awareness has grown, so have opportunities to create change, so the founders have decided to focus this year and in the future on transforming awareness into action. We are thrilled to join them in their efforts.

Despite the ongoing efforts of advocates, litigators and others throughout the county, children are still prosecuted as adults, and often are sentenced to life without parole and other extreme punishments. When we sentence children to die in prison, we ignore what adolescent brain science tells us and how that has impacted several recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court:  Children are different from adults, both physically and developmentally. Children are less able to think through the long-term consequences of their actions, control their impulses or avoid pressure from peers or adults. Because they are still developing, they also possess a unique capacity to grow and change. In fact, we know that most children grow out of illegal behaviors by the time they reach their late 20s.

Thankfully, we are moving toward a justice system that less punitive in its dealings with children. In the last decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has significantly scaled back the use of the most extreme sentences for children, and has required opportunities for review for everyone sentenced as a child to a mandatory life-without-parole sentence. The Court also has said that these death-in-prison sentences are appropriate only when it can be proven that a child is irredeemable.

In addition, 17 states now ban these sentences for children. This includes both traditionally conservative states such as West Virginia and Nevada as well as traditionally liberal states such as Hawaii and Massachusetts.

Yet, our work is not done. We must ensure that all of these court and policy decisions are implemented in meaningful ways to provide everyone serving one of these sentences with a reasonable opportunity for release.

Throughout October, we will share commentaries of directly impacted individuals. We hope that you will be moved and inspired by their testimonies.

Thank you for your partnership as we work to ensure that no child is ever condemned to die in prison and all children are given a second chance.

Where in the world is CFSY?

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Upcoming
October 12 — Advocacy Director James Dold will participate in Reelworld’s Media for Impact Conference in Toronto to discuss how the CFSY used the film 15 to Life in our advocacy efforts.
October 13 — Youth Justice Advocate Xavier McElrath-Bey will deliver a presentation to juvenile lifers, fellow advocates and others at San Quentin State Prison.
Recent presentations, keynotes and events

October 1 — Xavier was a keynote speaker at the Rotary Foundation’s 100th Anniversary celebration in Cleveland, Ohio.

September 20 — Advocacy Director James Dold attended a roundtable discussion about the role of victims in the criminal justice debate at the 2016 National Training Institute of the National Center for Victims of Crime in Philadelphia.
September 11 — Xavier delivered a keynote address entitled “Throwaway Children” at the Lakeshore Unitarian Society in Chicago.
James Ross, right, with Ronald Simpson-Bey, who lost a child to violence committed by a youth, and Andrea Clark, Founder and Executive Director of Mothers of Murdered Children
August 26 — Montgomery Implementation Coordinator Rebecca Turner participated in training at session at the University of Louisiana at Monroe for attorney representing clients who are being resentenced as a result of the Miller and Montgomery decisions. The training was hosted by the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights and the Louisiana Public Defender Board.

August 21 — James Ross, CFSY’s director of outreach and engagement, attended the Mothers of Murdered Children gala in Detroit. The event which brought together mothers from throughout the country who have lost children to violence. 

August 19  — Xavier presented as part of the Civic Consulting Alliance & Illinois Justice Project Speaker’s Series in Chicago.

August 12 — Xavier facilitated a workshop with ICAN members Traci Rutherford and Joseph Farias at the National Association for Counsel of Children Conference in Philadelphia.

August 10-13 — James Dold attended the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Annual Conference in Palm Beach Florida.
Xavier at the Civic Consulting Alliance  event

August 8-11 — Xavier participated in the panel “Reaching Across the Aisle on Juvenile Justice” during the National Conference of State Legislators 2016 Legislative Summit in Chicago.

August 3-4 — Executive Director Jody Kent Lavy, Xavier and ICAN member Dolphy Jordan met with and presented to Starbucks leadership in Seattle.

August 2  — Rebecca participated in a training program in South Carolina regarding Miller/Montgomery resentencing issues. The training was hosted by the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, Justice 360, and the Cornell Law School Juvenile Justice Clinic.

July 11 — Xavier and Xavier delivered a presentation about life without parole for children to staff at Google in San Francisco.

July 10 —  Xavier and Jody met with members of Kid CAT, a group comprised of juvenile lifers at San Quentin State Prison in California.
June 26 — James Ross spoke about the national landscape during a statewide meeting of family members and friends of people serving life without parole for crimes committed as children in Michigan. The gathering was sponsored by ACLU of Michigan Juvenile Life Without Parole Initiative.

 

Years after they gave him his start, Xavier returns to Starbucks

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xavier-at-starbucks

Youth Justice Advocate Xavier McElrath-Bey delivered a keynote address about life-without-parole sentences for children to staff at the Starbucks Corporation in Seattle in August. He was joined by Executive Director Jody Kent Lavy and Dolphy Jordan, a member of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), who also delivered remarks during the event.

Starbucks hired Xavier for his first job when he was released from prison nearly 14 years ago. Here are his reflections on that visit:

“Visiting the Starbucks headquarters brought back a flood of memories and appreciation for what they once represented in my life. Fresh out of prison at age 26 and never having lived as an adult in free society, I was met with the additional challenge of finding employment with a criminal record.

Although I was a child at the time of my arrest in 1989, I was charged as an adult, which meant that my record will be visible to employers for the rest of my life. Over and over, I had been denied a job – even though I had earned a college degree while I was incarcerated. I used my last bus fare to visit a Starbucks store for an interview and I was hired. Within days, my world changed forever. With a job, I was able to survive and pursue a master’s degree while working part-time. This opportunity came because of the good heart and instincts of one store manager who believed in me.

During my visit at headquarters, I discovered that Starbucks has embarked upon a great mission: to partner with other corporations in forming the largest employer-led coalition to provide job opportunities to youth in America. The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative seeks to connect the 5.5 million youth aged 16 to 24 who are not in school are working with the employers who need their skills and abilities. The initiative resonated with me on many levels, in particular because most youth in the justice system were once very much like these young people. And most youth who were sentenced to life without parole faced these realities and other obstacles at the time of their arrests, much as I did.”

People told as youth that they would die in prison are coming home

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Dear friends,

Every week lately, I receive an email, text message or phone call with news of the release of  someone told as a child that he or she would die in prison. These individuals and hundreds more have been granted a second chance at life because of recent reforms by state lawmakers and the U.S. Supreme Court, which have reduced and abolished life sentences for children.  We are deeply heartened to welcome home those who have served their debts to society and maintained hope of one day reuniting with their families and communities.

And there is more work to be done to ensure that everyone serving one of these unconstitutional sentences has a meaningful opportunity for release. We must make certain that Montgomery v. Louisiana, which made retroactive the Supreme Court’s 2012 ban on mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children, is appropriately implemented. With this as a priority, the Campaign recently hired a new Montgomery Implementation Coordinator. We have been working with advocates in states most impacted by the ruling and fostering engagement with pro-bono attorneys who can represent individuals at resentencing and in parole hearings. We also are beginning to develop relationships with parole board officials who will hear and consider these re-sentencing cases.

At the same time, we continue to work with elected officials, demonstrating the wisdom of holding children accountable in more age-appropriate ways. These reforms are experiencing broad, bi-partisan support. Currently, the Comprehensive Youth Justice Amendment Act of 2016 is advancing before the D.C. Council. The bill would ban life without parole sentences for children and provide for sentencing review opportunities. It has broad support and the Judiciary Committee is expected to vote it in early October. As part of our advocacy efforts in support of its passage, the Campaign organized family members of people who would be impacted by the bill to testify in favor of it alongside us.
Yet, we are aware that much work remains. Some states, such as Virginia, are going to extreme measures to avoid following the spirit and letter of the Montgomery decision. This month, pro-bono lawyers with whom we partner argued before the Fourth Circuit Court and the Virginia Supreme Court that the state must abide by this ruling from the country’s highest court.
The battles will continue, but we are winning. We are grateful for your partnership and look forward to our journey together as we ensure that no child is ever condemned to die in prison.
Onward,
Jody Kent Lavy
Executive Director

Three new staff members join the CFSY

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Megan Buchanan is the new program assistant at the Campaign. Megan is originally from Los Angeles, California, and attended college at American University in Washington, D.C. where she majored in international studies.  

She previously worked at the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community as a development intern, and more recently as an intern at the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. As the Campaign’s program assistant, Megan will engage volunteers and donors, plan and execute events, and help further the Campaign’s advocacy efforts. In her free time, Megan enjoys dancing and rollerblading.

Rebecca Turner has joined the Campaign as the Montgomery implementation coordinator. In this role, she coordinates pro bono engagement for resentencings following the Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana U.S Supreme Court rulings, tracks the outcomes of resentencings, and serves as a liaison with law firms across the country. She also works with state litigation partners in order to help ensure that the Montgomery ruling is being meaningfully implemented. 

Rebecca is a graduate of Florida State University and the University of Virginia School of Law. As a law student, she worked on habeas corpus petitions for death penalty inmates in California, and participated in the Innocence Project clinic at the University of Virginia. After graduation, she was a fellow at the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the Washington Lawyer’s Committee. Immediately before joining the Campaign, Rebecca worked at the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, where she helped to implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act in Maryland prisons. Rebecca is a self-professed television and movie buff. She also enjoys cooking new and interesting foods and reading in her spare time.

Greg Hamilton is our new outreach coordinator. In this position, Greg works with individuals directly impacted by sentences of life without parole as children.

Greg communicates frequently with people who are currently serving these sentences and serves as the staff coordinator with the National Family Network, a national network of family members whose loved ones are serving life without parole for crimes committed as youth. He also helps to coordinate events and leads special projects as assigned. 

Greg recently graduated from St. Michael’s College in Burlington, Vermont, where he majored in chemistry and engaged in international advocacy work with the Student Global AIDS Campaign. He will be at the CFSY for one year as a participant in the  Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Greg enjoys biking, skiing and snowboarding.

New CFSY's report highlights recent momentum for reform

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The Campaign’s new publication, Righting Wrongs: The Five-Year Groundswell of State Bans on Life Without Parole for Children, highlights keys to recent reforms that have advanced the national trend of banning these extreme sentences for children.

The publication features the successes enabled by partners and supporters like you in states across the country. It also shares the stories of individuals who grew up in prison who are now members of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN) as well as the experiences of other key stakeholders and individuals whose lives have been impacted by these reforms. It has a particular focus on the bipartisan nature of our legislative successes.

The report is accompanied by a letter from former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, urging policymakers in other states to join his state of Utah and others in banning life-without-parole sentences for children.

“Before I served our great nation, I too was a juvenile offender who committed serious crimes, risking my own life and the lives of others,” Simpson wrote. “With minor changes in the facts of the crime, I could have spent years-or perhaps my entire life-in the clink. I am living proof that youth possess a unique capacity to grow and change. The child who seems helpless today could go on and change the world. That’s why I strongly support the work of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth which is actively working to end the practice of sentencing children to die in prison.”

The New York Times also quoted the publication in an op-ed calling on Michigan prosecutors to ensure that people eligible for relief as a result of January’s Montgomery v. Louisiana decision have reasonable opportunities for release, as the U.S. Supreme Court mandated in the ruling.

This is the first major publication produced by the Campaign. We anticipate that it will be a key educational tool as we and our partners continue the national trend of rejecting these extreme sentences for children. To date, 17 states ban life-without-parole sentences for children, and five others ban the sentences under most circumstances.

Read U.S. Senator Alan Simpson’s letter

Read “Michigan Prosecutors Defy the Supreme Court” in The New York Times

Read “Bar Bulletin: New report highlights trend against life sentences for children” in The Daily Record 

 

Crime victims overwhelmingly believe justice system relies too heavily on incarceration

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A new report, Crime Survivors Speak: The First-Ever National Survey of Victim’s Views on Safety and Justice, reveals that victims of violent crimes overwhelmingly believe incarceration plays too large a role in the justice system.

The report from the Alliance for Safety and Justice builds on the first-of-its-kind National Survey for Victims Views, which reveals that the opinions and desires of victims of crime are often out of line with media portrayals. Notably, crime victims by a margin of three-to-one believe that prison is more likely to make people commit further crimes rather than rehabilitate them.

Read the full report:
crime-survivors-speak-report-cover