Children are Capable of Positive Change: Proven Policies in Youth Sentencing

Published July 2026. Sources:
  1. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. (2023). A majority of U.S. states have banned life-without-parole sentences for children. https://cfsy.org/map2023/  
  2. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. (2023). A majority of U.S. states have banned life-without-parole sentences for children. https://cfsy.org/map2023/ 
  3. H.B. 4210, 81st Leg., 1st Sess. (W. Va. 2014);  A.B. 267, 78th Leg., Gen. Sess. (Nev. 2015); H.B. 1195, 65th Leg. (N.D. 2017); S.B. 494, 2021 Reg. Sess. (Md. 2021).
  4. S.B. 294, 91st Leg. (Ark. 2017); S.B. 256, 133rd Gen. Assemb. (Ohio 2020); S.B. 64, 56th Leg. (N.M. 2023); H.B. 35, 2020 Reg. Sess. (Va. 2020).
  5. Gebriel, T., & Ndiaye, M. (2026, February 3). “They just denied me”: Parole stories and case studies. FWD.us. https://www.fwd.us/news/they-just-denied-me-parole-stories-case-studies/ 
  6. Luna, B. (2012). The relevance of immaturities in the juvenile brain to culpability and rehabilitation. Hastings Law Journal, 63(6), 1469–1486. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29093605 
  7. Sbeglia, C., Simmons, C., Icenogle, G., Levick, M., Peniche, M., Beardslee, J., & Cauffman, E. (2025). Life after life: Recidivism among individuals formerly sentenced to mandatory juvenile life without parole. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 35(1), e12989. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12989
  8. Orendain, N., Galván, A., Smith, E., Barnert, E. S., & Chung, P. J. (2022). Juvenile confinement exacerbates adversity burden: A neurobiological impetus for decarceration. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, 1004335. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1004335
  9. Brief for Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators et al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners, Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) (Nos. 08-7412, 08-7621), 2009 WL 2235447.
  10. Daftary Kapur, T., & Zottoli, T. (2020). Resentencing of juvenile lifers: The Philadelphia experience. Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works, 84. https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/justice-studies-facpubs/84; Sbeglia, C., Simmons, C., Icenogle, G., Levick, M., Peniche, M., Beardslee, J., & Cauffman, E. (2025). Life after life: Recidivism among individuals formerly sentenced to mandatory juvenile life without parole. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 35(1), e12989. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12989
  11. Daftary Kapur, T., & Zottoli, T. (2020). Resentencing of juvenile lifers: The Philadelphia experience. Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works, 84. https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/justice-studies-facpubs/84
  12. Macdonald, D. (2024). Truth in sentencing, incentives and recidivism. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4806765
  13. Prison Fellowship. (2020). How can parole and credit policies reduce recidivism? https://www.prisonfellowship.org/2020/12/parole-and-credit-policies-reduce-recidivism/
  14. Prison Fellowship. (2021). Incentivizing rehabilitation through release: Parole and credit policies. https://www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/advocacy/release/parole-and-credit-policies/
  15. American Correctional Association. (2014). Opposing life sentences without possibility of parole for youthful offenders. https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/ACA-Resolutions-and-Policies-on-Juveniles-Newly-Revised-and-Adopted.pdf
  16. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005); Graham v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2011 (2010); Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012); Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U.S. 190 (2016); Jones v. Mississippi, 593 U.S. 98 (2021).
  17. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005); Graham v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2011 (2010); Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012); Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U.S. 190 (2016); Jones v. Mississippi, 593 U.S. 98 (2021).
  18. USA Facts. (2025). How much do states spend on housing prisoners? https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-do-states-spend-on-prisons/
  19. Calculation = (median state cost to incarcerate an individual per year) × (average U.S. life expectancy − age at sentencing); USA Facts. (2025). How much do states spend on housing prisoners? https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-do-states-spend-on-prisons/; J. Xu, S.L. Murphy, K.D. Kochanek, & E. Arias. (2026). Mortality in the United States, 2024. National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db548.pdf
  20. Life of Tax: How much tax is paid over a lifetime. (2026, June 15). Self. https://www.self.inc/info/life-of-tax/
  21. Calculation = (median state cost to incarcerate an individual per year) × (average U.S. life expectancy − age at sentencing); USA Facts. (2025). How much do states spend on housing prisoners? https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-do-states-spend-on-prisons/; J. Xu, S.L. Murphy, K.D. Kochanek, & E. Arias. (2026). Mortality in the United States, 2024. National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db548.pdf
  22. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. (2024). Unusual & unequal: the unfinished business of ending life without parole for children. https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/JLWOP-Unusual-Unequal-April-2024.pdf
  23. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth & National Center for Victims of Crime. (2023). Fact sheet: Second chances for children in the criminal legal system. https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/NCVCCFSY-Fact-Sheet-January-2023.pdf
  24. Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012).
  25. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. (2024). Unusual & unequal: the unfinished business of ending life without parole for children. https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/JLWOP-Unusual-Unequal-April-2024.pdf
  26. Human Rights Watch (2008). Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. https://hrw.org/en/reports/2008/02/06/submission-committee-elimination-racial-discrimination-0
  27. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. (2024). Unusual & unequal: the unfinished business of ending life without parole for children. https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/JLWOP-Unusual-Unequal-April-2024.pdf
  28. Nellis, A. (2012, March). The lives of juvenile lifers: Findings from a national survey. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2024/06/The-Lives-of-Juvenile-Lifers-Findings-from-a-National-Survey.pdf
  29. Nellis, A. (2012, March). The lives of juvenile lifers: Findings from a national survey. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2024/06/The-Lives-of-Juvenile-Lifers-Findings-from-a-National-Survey.pdf
  30. Nellis, A. (2012, March). The lives of juvenile lifers: Findings from a national survey. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2024/06/The-Lives-of-Juvenile-Lifers-Findings-from-a-National-Survey.pdf
  31. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth & National Center for Victims of Crime. (2023). Fact Sheet: Second chances for children in the criminal legal system. https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/NCVCCFSY-Fact-Sheet-January-2023.pdf
  32. Nellis, A. (2012, March). The lives of juvenile lifers: Findings from a national survey. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2024/06/The-Lives-of-Juvenile-Lifers-Findings-from-a-National-Survey.pdf
  33. Fair and Just Prosecution. (2020). A majority of voters support an end to extreme sentences for children. https://www.fairandjustprosecution.org/staging/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Juvenile-Life-Without-Parole-Polling-Report.pdf
  34. Fair and Just Prosecution. (2020). A majority of voters support an end to extreme sentences for children. https://www.fairandjustprosecution.org/staging/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Juvenile-Life-Without-Parole-Polling-Report.pdf
  35. Fair and Just Prosecution. (2020). A majority of voters support an end to extreme sentences for children. https://www.fairandjustprosecution.org/staging/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Juvenile-Life-Without-Parole-Polling-Report.pdf
  36. Brief for American Psychological Ass’n et al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners, Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) (Nos. 10-9646, 10-9647), 2012 WL 174238.
  37. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth & National Center for Victims of Crime. (2023). Fact Sheet: Second chances for children in the criminal legal system. https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/NCVCCFSY-Fact-Sheet-January-2023.pdf
  38. United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 1577, p. 3). https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child
  39. Brief for American Ass’n of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists et al. as Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners, Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) (Nos. 08-7412, 08-7621), 2009 WL 2235445.
  40.  Fair and Just Prosecution. (2021). Joint statement on sentencing second chances and addressing past extreme sentences. https://fairandjustprosecution.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FJP-Extreme-Sentences-and-Second-Chances-Joint-Statement.pdf
  41. Responsible Business Initiative for Justice. (2026). https://rbij.org
  42. Seacrest, L. (2023, March 20). The United States is at a tipping point on juvenile life without parole. R Street Institute. https://www.rstreet.org/commentary/the-united-states-is-at-a-tipping-point-on-juvenile-life-without-parole/
  43. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. (2026). About ICAN. https://cfsy.org/what-we-do/ican-stories/