Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (EIN 27-3761788) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Virginia Strengthens Standards for Youth Parole Decision-Making
Blog by Destiny M. Hibbler-Wiley, Research & Implementation Counsel at the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
Many states across the country have taken steps to end extreme sentences for children. In 2021, Virginia did so by establishing parole eligibility for children who were under 18 at the time of their offense after serving 20 years in prison.
But parole eligibility alone is not enough. The critical question remains: what makes parole review meaningful? A new bill in Virginia (SB60/HB318) helps answer that question.
Effective July 1, 2026, the new bill establishes clearer standards for how the Virginia Parole Board evaluates individuals who were sentenced as children–bringing greater structure, transparency, and fairness to the process.
A Framework to Focus on Change
The bill requires the Parole Board to give significant consideration to a person’s ability to change. Research and legal precedent makes clear that children are fundamentally different from adults. Youth are more impulsive, more vulnerable to outside influences, and more capable of growth over time.
SB60/HB318 incorporates these principles into parole decision-making by requiring the Board to:
- Consider demonstrated maturity, rehabilitation, and the recognition that children have lesser culpability; and
- Give strong weight to indicators of growth, including more recent conduct, emotional maturity, improved decision-making, and participation in rehabilitative programming.
This marks an important shift, highlighting that parole decisions must reflect not only an individual’s past actions but also who they have become.
Recognizing Youth and Life Circumstances
SB60/HB318 also requires the Parole Board to consider the role that youth and life circumstances played in the offense.
This includes:
- The developmental characteristics of youth, such as immaturity and limited risk assessment
- The influence of peers or adults
- Family and community conditions, including trauma, poverty, and instability
- The reality that many children could not escape harmful or negative environments
The bill further makes clear that a person’s age at the time of the offense cannot be used against them. These considerations ensure that parole decisions are grounded in a full understanding of the distinct characteristics of childhood and the underlying factors of youth involved in serious harm.
Strengthening Transparency and Accountability
SB60/HB318 also improves the structure of the parole process itself.
If parole is denied, the Board must:
- Provide clear, individualized reasons for its decision
- Offer guidance on how the individual can demonstrate further rehabilitation
- Reconsider progress at future hearings
Individuals are also able to seek reconsideration or appeal if the Board fails to properly consider youth-related factors or relies too heavily on the offense.
Together, these provisions create a more transparent and responsive system–one that gives people a clearer understanding of what is expected and how to move forward.
Why This Matters
Across the country, thousands of people sentenced as children are now eligible for parole review. But without clearer standards, those reviews risk falling short of the “meaningful opportunity for release” required by law.
SB60/HB318 represents an important step toward aligning practices with what we know about youth, growth, and second chances. It reinforces the principle that people are more than the harm they caused as children and that change must be recognized.
For more details, access our resource on SB60/HB318 here.
Watching the Knicks from a Different Perspective
Angel Alejandro is CFSY’s Co-Director of Development and a member of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network. He’s pictured with his dog, Midnight, also a Knicks fan.
As a lifelong Knicks fan, this year’s playoff run has felt different.
If you’re from New York, you know what I’m talking about. The energy has been everywhere. On the trains. In bodegas. On street corners. In conversations with complete strangers wearing orange and blue. For the first time in a long time, it felt like the entire city was united around one thing: believing that the Knicks could actually do it.
The last time the Knicks won an NBA Championship was 1973, years before I was born. I grew up with my uncles telling me stories about Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, and those championship teams, but I’ve never experienced one of my own.
The last time the Knicks reached the NBA Finals was 1999. I watched every game, but my life looked very different then. I was in the middle of fighting a federal RICO case tied to things that happened when I was just 15 years old. While the city was cheering on Patrick Ewing (my favorite player) and the Knicks’ run, I was fighting for my life.
I remember watching those games, but I couldn’t fully enjoy them. United States v. Angel Alejandro just hits different!
So watching this Bruson, KAT, Hart, OG, and Bridges-led team make its run this year brought back a lot of memories.
It reminded me how much life can change between seasons.
Back then, I couldn’t imagine where I’d be 27 years later. Today, after serving 21 years behind bars and being home for six, I get to watch the Knicks with a different perspective. I’ve survived things that once felt impossible. I’ve seen victories, setbacks, heartbreak, and healing.
Being a fan isn’t really about championships. If it were, Knicks fans would have given up a long time ago. It’s about loyalty. Hope. Growing and getting better. Believing next year could be the year, even after decades of disappointment.
This playoff run gave New York something special. It gave us something to believe in together. And for me personally, it was a reminder of how far I’ve come from that young kid watching the 1999 Finals in jail while wondering if I’d ever be free again.
The Knicks gave me something almost as valuable: a chance to reflect on the journey.
And as every Knicks fan knows, hope springs eternal.
Let’s goooooooooooo Knicks!
Highlights from 2025
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) continued to grow and evolve in 2025, thanks to the power of our community. We remained focused on racial justice and the resilience of those directly impacted by the extreme sentencing of children. We deepened our commitment to healing through transformative and restorative justice. We protected past victories and pursued new ones.
Here are key highlights from our year:
Celebrating Freedom and the Legacy of Bryan Stevenson
The culminating moment of our year was the 2025 Freedom Celebration held this past November in Philadelphia. Bringing together over 300 community members, including ICAN members and long-time supporters, the event served as the “prom, graduation, and birthday party” many of our members missed while incarcerated.
We were overjoyed to honor CFSY Co-Founder Bryan Stevenson for his legendary leadership and relentless pursuit of justice.
Healing Through Community Care
The holistic well-being of our community is our priority. We hosted two landmark retreats focused on transformative healing:
- Community Care Retreat: In June, we gathered at Sandy Cove for a time of reflection and rest. For many ICAN members and their families, this was a vital space to “just be kids again” and prioritize self-care that is often neglected in the fight for justice.
- Inaugural Survivors Retreat: In October, we hosted our first-ever Survivors Retreat at Pendle Hill. Survivors of youth violence and lost loved ones came together to build trust, share pain, and find collective strength.
Advocacy and Implementation
We fought to pass and protect laws and ensure fair implementation:
- Defending D.C. Reform: Our team, alongside partners and ICAN and NFN members, headed to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to protect the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA) and vote “No” on regressive bills.
- Minnesota & Michigan: We continued deep implementation work in Minnesota following the ban of life sentences for children. We also returned to Michigan to mobilize support in the state with the nation’s largest population of individuals serving life sentences for childhood offenses, where we remain committed.
- Transformative Healing and Restorative Justice: We engaged in conversation with our partners through a series of webinars, exploring how accountability and care can interrupt cycles of trauma.
Other 2025 Milestones
- Roper at 20: 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court decision that ended the death penalty for children. Listen to CFSY staff member Donnell Drinks’ reflections on this milestone as someone who was given the death penalty as a child.
- Staff updates: We welcomed Saif Imtiaz and Destiny M. Hibbler to the CFSY staff to bolster our research and legal implementation efforts and celebrated the return of Jody Kent Lavy, CFSY co-founder and former executive director, as a Stoneleigh Fellow.
- For the second year in a row, we debuted updates to the “Letters from the Inside.” The virtual gallery showcases the art, poetry, and reflections on healing from our community members still behind bars.
Mourning the Loss of Giants
We mourned the loss of key giants in our community. Amidst this loss, we will forever celebrate their lives and legacies:
- Linda White: Linda was one of the first members of our National Family Network (NFN) and a CFSY board member. After losing her daughter to teenage violence, Linda became one of the loudest advocates for ending life without parole for children.
- Agnes Gund: Agnes and her daughter, Catherine, were visionaries in forging new partnerships among artists and advocates through Art for Justice. Her partnership with CFSY supported us on our journey to elevate directly impacted leadership.
- Ronnie Waters: Ronnie was a longstanding ICAN member who served 40 years of a life sentence he received as a child. Coming home in 2020, Ronnie quickly became a leader in Michigan.
In the News
Our movement continues to make headlines as the nation grapples with the importance of fair chances for extreme sentenced children:
- Washington Post Op-Ed: D.C.’s second-chance law is working. Why is Congress trying to repeal it?
- The Imprint: Once Juvenile Lifers, Now Free: A Celebration of the ‘Children are Different’ High Court Ruling
- Bolts Magazine: North Carolina’s Extreme Sentences for Children
- WTOP: From Prison to Public Service: Former Inmate Leads Reentry Efforts
We are entering 2026 fully committed to ending the extreme sentencing of children and finding new approaches to healing and restoration. Thank you for being here. If you’re new to this space, we hope you’ll join us!
