Second Chance Youth: A Congressional Briefing on Juvenile Life Without Parole

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This briefing will feature people directly impacted by both youth violence and the extreme sentencing of children. They will share what life was like coming of age during the “superpredator” era and their experiences of being incarcerated with adults. Across the country, Republicans and Democrats have come together to help change how America holds children accountable and keep our communities safe while holding true to our moral values ingrained in mercy, hope, and forgiveness. Children who were once sentenced to die in prison have re-entered society, some after decades. Now adults, these men and women will share why Congress should support the current bipartisan efforts to pass Sara’s Law and the Unfair Sentencing of Minors Act (H.R. 2858) being led by Congressmembers Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Karen Bass (D-CA), and Tony Cardenas (D-CA), which would create judicial sentencing review for children after they’ve been incarcerated for 20 years. These provisions have also been incorporated into the First Step Implementation Act in the U.S. Senate by Senators Durbin and Grassley.

Moderator:
Michael Mendoza
Director of Advocacy, Anti-Recidivism Coalition

Panelists: 
Donnell Drinks (PA)
Laura Nicks (AR)
Ralph Brazel, Jr. (Fed/FL)
Linda White (TX)
James Carpenter (DC)

If you plan to attend this briefing, please RSVP here.

Please note: This is an in-person briefing. Unfortunately, we cannot offer a virtual attendance option.

Miller v. Alabama: 10 years since the landmark decision

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Please join us for a conversation marking the 10th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case, Miller v. Alabama. Hear from advocates and people who have been directly impacted by the extreme sentencing of children. Together, we will chart the milestones and challenges of the last decade and map a path forward in which the United States ceases to be the only country in the world that sentences children to die in prison. There will be an opportunity for questions, as well as space to meet and mingle with advocates, legal and legislative partners, supporters, and directly impacted families and individuals. Light refreshments will be provided.

To learn more, email Christina Oliver, CFSY Major Gifts and Events Manager, at coliver@cfsy.org.

Community Gathering

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Please join us on December 9th at 5 PM Eastern for our last gathering of the year as we look back on 2021 and look forward to the year ahead. Please email Christina Oliver at coliver@cfsy.org if you would like to attend.

Why Fair Chance Employment? Perspectives from Movement Leaders and Business Experts

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Every person should have an equal and equitable opportunity for economic stability and prosperity, including those re-entering the community after incarceration. This includes a fair chance for meaningful employment.

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), Represent Justice, Second Chance Business Coalition, and Verizon are coming together to host a discussion on fair chance hiring. Join us for this exciting, two panel event.

The first panel will feature two individuals sharing their experience post-incarceration, challenges they faced finding meaningful employment, and what fair chance hiring means to them. The second panel will feature experts discussing the business case for fair chance employment, best practices, and resources for finding fair chance talent.

Dr. Clint Smith in conversation with Abd’Allah Lateef

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This event has already passed. If you would like to listen to a recording, please click the button below.

Please join us for a conversation between New York Times bestselling author Dr. Clint Smith and Abd’Allah Lateef, Senior Strategist and Racial Equity Specialist at the CFSY.

In his recently released nonfiction narrative book, How the Word Is Passed, Clint offers an intergenerational story of how slavery has shaped our nation’s collective history, and ourselves. There are few places where that legacy has had more influence than on our criminal legal system and its treatment of children of color. The United States is the only country in the world that sentences children to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole, and this sentence is disproportionately imposed on Black children. Today, 25 states and the District of Columbia ban the practice and there is broad public support for reform. 

Clint and Abd’Allah will call upon their personal experiences and years of research, leadership, and activism to discuss the movement to end death-in-prison sentences for children. Whether you have been directly impacted by the extreme sentencing of children or you are just learning about the issue, join us for a lively discussion between two leaders in this movement.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations to the CFSY are encouraged.

Thank you to our generous sponsors. 

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Alston & Bird

Baker McKenzie

Cleary Gottlieb

Covington & Burling

Cozen O’Connor

Creed & Gowdy

Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick

Kelley Drye

King & Spalding

Lankler Siffert & Wohl

Latham & Watkins

Morgan Lewis

Sidley

The Steptoe Foundation

Wiley

Wilkinson Barker Knauer

Prosecutors in Action: Dismantling the Superpredator Myth

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In a conversation moderated by Xavier McElrath-Bey (CFSY Co-Executive Director) and Miriam Krinsky (Executive Director of Fair & Just Prosecution), prosecutors Larry Krasner (Philadelphia District Attorney), Chesa Boudin (San Francisco District Attorney), Aisha Braveboy (State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, MD), and Kim Foxx (State’s Attorney for Cook County, IL) discuss manifestations of the superpredator narrative they’ve witnessed, what they’re doing now to undo the harm of that narrative, and what reforms they hope to see in the treatment of children in the future. Click here to watch on YouTube! 

A Crime Against Humanity: A Juneteenth Reflection on the Enduring Legacy of the Superpredator Myth and Ways to Repair Its Damage

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Please join us on June 17, 2021 for a virtual event contextualizing policy shifts that led to human rights abuses in the U.S. justice system against children of color and offering federal-level solutions.

Irrational policies rooted in racism and false narratives about Black youth spawned relaxed juvenile transfer laws beginning in the 1980s which made it easier to try and convict children in adult criminal court. Over a six-year period beginning in 1993, the number of children housed in adult jails more than doubled.

Today, more than 76,000 children are prosecuted as adults annually with 83 percent of them being racial and ethnic minorities. Black children make up approximately 58 percent of all children currently housed in adult prisons across the country and are disproportionately given lengthy mandatory minimum sentences and extreme sentences like life without parole and de facto life. The policy shifts that allowed these human rights abuses against Black youth occurred alongside the emergence of the superpredator theory in 1995 and the subsequently negative portrayal of Black children by the media, elected officials, and public influencers.

This commemorative Juneteenth event will feature discussion of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth’s (CFSY) new report, The Origins of the Superpredator: The Child Study Movement to Today, which will contextualize the policy shifts that have permitted these current human rights abuses against children of color in the U.S. criminal justice system, and directly impacted members of the CFSY’s staff speaking to their own experience with the system. The discussion will also feature Human Rights for Kids CEO & Founder James Dold discussing current efforts to undo the harm of the superpredator myth in Congress and ways the public can get involved.

ICAN National Day of Healing

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Please join us for the CFSY’s first ICAN National Day of Healing!

Earlier this month we launched our No Child Is Born Bad campaign, to tell the truth about the racist myth called the “superpredator theory.” On May 26th we’ll gather together to celebrate our ICAN members – many of whom were labeled “superpredators” and all of whom who were sent to prison as children.

Our National Day of Healing will honor every ICAN member and their remarkable resilience and dedication to changing the world around them for the better. In spite of being told by the criminal legal system and society that they were unworthy of the opportunity to be treated as children, they persevered and are leading meaningful lives as free adults and as leaders in our movement for racial equity and justice.

Join us on May 26, 2021 from 5:00 – 7:00pm Eastern to meet and pay tribute to these incredible individuals, and as an opportunity to connect, heal, and celebrate as a community.

During the event, we will have a candle lighting ceremony using our Limited Edition custom CFSY candle. Feel free to come for a part or all of this celebration.

Please register using the link below.

Community Gathering

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Please join us for the launch of an exciting new initiative.
We can’t wait to reconnect with you!

March 23, 2021 @ 5:30-7 PM ET