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!