Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (EIN 27-3761788) is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Tag Archive for: Press Release
Press Release: AIFCS and CFSY Proudly Announce the Release of “Before They Could Dream” Podcast - March 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 10, 2026
AIFCS and CFSY Proudly Announce the Release of “Before They Could Dream” Podcast
(March 10, 2026 – Washington, D.C.) The Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions (AIFCS), the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), and Green Buzz Agency today announced the release of their podcast, “Before They Could Dream.” Anchored by the stories of six people who were sentenced to long carceral sentences prior to their 18th birthdays, “Before They Could Dream” explores youth incarceration and various connected themes. This podcast, the first of its kind, is the inaugural partnership between the three organizations.
Anchored in the knowledge that the United States incarcerates more youth than any nation in the world, “Before They Could Dream” amplifies the complexities and nuances of those directly impacted by this truth through both first-person accounts and expert insights. “‘Before They Could Dream’ is about more than a story of youth incarceration — it is about who we believe children are and what we believe they deserve,” shares Monique Miles, Vice President at the AIFCS. “When we decide that a young person is beyond redemption, we reveal more about our systems than about that child. By centering lived experience alongside legal and scientific facts, this series challenges us to build a justice system rooted not in permanent punishment, but in accountability, healing, belonging, and hope,” says Miles.
“For those of us who were told as children that our lives were over before they truly began, reclaiming our narrative is an act of liberation,” adds Abd’Allah Lateef, Deputy Director of the CFSY and podcast host. “This series is a testament to our evolution and a challenge to a system that often mistakes a child’s worst moment for their entire identity. We are grateful to our partners at Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and Green Buzz Agency for making this incredible series possible, to our podcast guests in the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network for bravely sharing their experiences with the world, and to the experts who provided critical insights examining the systemic issues at the heart of this series.”
“Entrusted by the AIFCS and the CFSY, we set out to capture and share powerful stories, transforming them into a human-centric series designed to drive meaningful change in public understanding and policy,” says Tara Wilson, President of Green Buzz Agency.
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For more information, or if you would like to arrange an interview, please contact Adam Kemerer at [email protected] or 412-728-2340; or Ari Jones at [email protected].
About Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions
The Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions (AIFCS) has been a beacon of hope and change for over a decade. AIFCS promotes collaborative, community-based efforts that build the power and influence of those with the least access to opportunity. We support communities to come together to expand mobility, eliminate systemic barriers, and determine their own solutions to their most pressing challenges.
About Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) is a national nonprofit that leads efforts to ban juvenile life without parole and other extreme sentences for children. The CFSY works to dismantle the racial disparities, social injustices, and residual harms caused by the legal system. Through partnerships with advocacy organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders, the CFSY actively engages, supports, and centers the needs of survivors of youth violence, those incarcerated as children who are still serving or have been released, and their respective families and communities.
About Green Buzz Agency
Green Buzz Agency’s mission is to tell compelling stories that inspire action and evoke emotion, through a commitment to our clients, team and creative excellence.
Press Release: New Report on A Decade After Montgomery v. Louisiana - January 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 23, 2026
Media Contact: Callie King-Guffey | [email protected] | 503-853-2409
New Report on A Decade After Montgomery v. Louisiana: Progress, Gaps, and the Promise of Meaningful Review for Children Serving Extreme Sentences
January 23, 2026 – The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is proud to release “A Decade After Montgomery v. Louisiana: Progress, Gaps, and the Promise of Meaningful Review for Children Serving Extreme Sentences,” a new report examining the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2016 decision. The report assesses national progress in limiting extreme sentences for children, documents promising outcomes associated with sentencing review, and identifies the work that remains to fully implement Montgomery.
In Montgomery v. Louisiana, the Court reaffirmed its earlier ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children are in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Montgomery clarified that Miller must be applied retroactively, requiring states to ensure individuals already serving juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) receive sentences that comply with the U.S. Constitution. In recognizing the mitigating qualities of youth and the growing body of adolescent brain science, the Court affirmed that children possess a unique capacity for growth, rehabilitation, and redemption.
“Montgomery gave hope to thousands of people who were told they would die behind bars for crimes they committed as children,” says Xavier McElrath-Bey, Executive Director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. “Since 2016, nearly 1,300 children who were sentenced to life without parole have been released, and they are using their freedom to give back to their families and communities as youth mentors, violence interrupters, business owners, and dedicated advocates. Their stories demonstrate the promise of Montgomery: children can and do change, and communities are safer when accountability is paired with hope and meaningful opportunity.”
Ten years after Montgomery v. Louisiana, the nation has continued to make progress toward ending the most extreme punishment imposed on children. To date, twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have unequivocally abolished JLWOP sentences. Thousands of lives have been transformed as people once sentenced to die in prison have returned home, rebuilt their lives, and contributed meaningfully to their communities.
Yet this anniversary is not only a moment of reflection but also a reminder that the work remains unfinished. JLWOP and other extreme sentences still exist, perpetuating racial injustice and falling short of the constitutional principles the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a decade ago. CFSY calls on policymakers, advocates, and communities across the country to carry forward these principles. Doing so requires strengthening resentencing and parole systems so that opportunities for review are meaningful and accessible, ending reliance on extreme punishments, and investing in approaches that promote accountability, healing, and lasting community safety. Honoring the legacy of Montgomery demands more than compliance on paper; as a nation, we must commit to ensuring that no child is permanently condemned to a lifetime in prison and that every community has the opportunity to heal.
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For more information, or if you would like to arrange an interview, please contact Callie King-Guffey at [email protected] | 503-853-2409
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is a nonprofit that leads efforts to ban life-without-parole and other extreme sentences for children, and supports those incarcerated as children who are released after serving long sentences.
Press Release: New Report Highlights Shocking Statistics on Juvenile Life Without Parole in the United States - May 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2024
Media Contact: Adam Kemerer | [email protected] | 412-728-2340
UNUSUAL & UNEQUAL: NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS SHOCKING STATISTICS ON JUVENILE LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE IN THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2024 – The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) is proud to release Unusual & Unequal: The Unfinished Business of Ending Life Without Parole for Children in the United States, a new report revealing alarming statistics about the continued imposition of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) in the United States. The report can be accessed on this page and downloaded at this link.
The imposition of juvenile life without parole is becoming increasingly unusual nationally, and it is applied in increasingly arbitrary and unequal ways. For over 12 years, hundreds of individuals serving JLWOP have not received a second look at their sentences despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama mandating new sentencing considerations for youth. These individuals now make up two-thirds of the total JLWOP population, and as they await resentencing, racial disparities have worsened. Of all people sentenced to JLWOP since 2012, 77% are Black – up from 61% pre-Miller.
“The increasingly arbitrary imposition of JLWOP undermines the constitutionality of sentencing any child to life without parole and should compel states to categorically ban the sentence,” says Rebecca Turner, Associate Legal Director at the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. As of today, JLWOP remains a sentencing option in 22 states.
As the United States is the only known country in the world that permits JLWOP as a sentencing option, the minority of states that allow this sentence are not just outliers nationally, but globally as well. “As long as life without parole remains a sentencing option for children in any part of this country, we are rejecting the idea of the U.S. serving as a beacon of hope and protector of the most vulnerable in our society,” says Xavier McElrath-Bey, Executive Director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. “The fact that we continue to ignore the unique possibility of positive change in our children proven through studies of adolescent brain development and childhood trauma, especially when it comes to Black children, should cause us shame and compel us to reconsider our moral obligation to implement legal protections against cruel and unusual punishment for all children.”
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For more information, or if you would like to arrange an interview, please contact Adam Kemerer at [email protected] | 412-728-2340.
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is a nonprofit that leads efforts to ban life-without-parole and other extreme sentences for children, and supports those incarcerated as children who are released after serving long sentences.
Press Release: Xavier McElrath-Bey named executive director of the CFSY - October 2023
XAVIER MCELRATH-BEY NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE FAIR SENTENCING OF YOUTH
After going to prison at just 13 years of age, Xavier McElrath-Bey is now leading the fight to end extreme sentences for children
October 20, 2023 – This week, Xavier McElrath-Bey began his tenure as sole Executive Director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) after serving three years as Co-Executive Director alongside CFSY co-founder Jody Kent Lavy.
Over almost a decade at CFSY, Xavier has established himself as a uniquely skilled and passionate leader in the movement to end extreme sentences for children. After going to prison at just 13 years of age, he began to envision a better life where he would be able to put his remorse into action – what he has referred to as his “eternal apology” to the victim in his case, Pedro Martinez, and his family. He prepared himself for life outside of prison by earning multiple college degrees, earning an induction into the Franklin Honor Society for outstanding scholarship. After his release at the age of 26, he earned a Master’s Degree from Roosevelt University and worked in violence prevention in his Chicago community, as well as in clinical research at Northwestern University examining the mental health needs and outcomes of current and formerly incarcerated youth. In 2016, he met Pedro’s family in a restorative justice healing circle. That day, they forgave him and forged a relationship that continues to this day.
In his time at the CFSY, Xavier has played a key leadership role in every aspect of the organization’s work. In 2014, he co-founded the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), a first-of-its-kind national network of formerly incarcerated adults who served extreme sentences as children looking to create positive change. ICAN now has over 250 members across the country, including members serving their communities by founding nonprofit organizations, starting businesses, and advocating for youth justice reform. Xavier has been a key figure in the CFSY’s legislative advocacy efforts to end life without parole for children, and his advocacy was critical in abolishing JLWOP in places like Arkansas, Nevada, Utah, and the Dakotas. He is a prolific speaker and has shared his story all over the country, from the White House to TEDtalks to inside correctional facilities.
In addition to leading the CFSY, Xavier currently serves as a Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) Advisory Council Member at MacArthur Foundation, an Advisory Council Member at Eighth Amendment Project, an Ambassador Alumni with Represent Justice, and an Advisory Council Member at Fair Chance Institute (FCI). He’s also served as a board member at the Community Justice for Youth Institute (CJYI) and as a member of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force (PATF) working group on community & police relations. Outlets including the New York Times, People Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Teen Vogue, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian, The Marshall Project, and others have shared Xavier’s story and advocacy efforts, and in recent years, he received the Justice Roundtable Excellence Award, the JustLeadershipUSA Leading with Conviction Award, the Bright Promises Foundation Champion for Children Award, and the 2023 Juvenile Law Center Leadership Prize in recognition of his visionary leadership and groundbreaking advocacy efforts at the CFSY.
“As someone who was once deemed as ‘incorrigible’ by a juvenile court judge and sentenced as if I were an adult, it is one of the greatest honors of my life to lead an organization demanding a ban on life without parole and other extreme sentences for children”, says Xavier of his elevation. “It’s been a joy to work alongside and learn from my dear friend and mentor, Jody Kent Lavy, who, along with our team, has championed our equity journey over the years and made this moment possible.”
Today, 33 states have either formally abolished juvenile life without the possibility of parole or have no one serving this sentence and in the last decade, 1,000 people who were once sentenced to die in prison as children have returned home to become leaders in their communities. The CFSY is committed to building on this success under Xavier’s leadership, ending extreme sentences for children and working to ensure that survivors of youth violence, those incarcerated as children who are still serving and have been released, and their respective families and communities can heal and thrive.
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For more information, or if you would like to arrange an interview, please contact Adam Kemerer at [email protected] | 412-728-2340
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is a nonprofit that leads efforts to ban life-without-parole and other extreme sentences for children, and supports those incarcerated as children who are released after serving long sentences to lead and thrive.
Press Release: 1,000 individuals who were sentenced to JLWOP are now free - June 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2023
Media Contact: Adam Kemerer | [email protected] | 412-728-2340
1,000 individuals who were sentenced to JLWOP are now free!
June 6, 2023 – Today, we mark the incredible milestone that 1,000 individuals who were once sentenced to juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) have now been released from prison! Since 2016, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) has collected individual-level data for every person in the United States convicted of life without parole for a crime committed under the age of 18. All of us at the CFSY have been fighting alongside family members, formerly incarcerated individuals, survivors of violence, lawyers, legislators, and advocates to reach this landmark for over a decade. The milestone comes after a series of Supreme Court decisions on the importance of youth in sentencing and a legislative shift away from extreme sentences for youth. These reforms provided legal relief to the 1,000 individuals formerly serving juvenile life without parole as well as countless others serving extreme sentences since childhood.
People sentenced to JLWOP have been released from prison through a variety of pathways since Montgomery v. Louisiana. This information is collected and updated using information from state partner organizations, state departments of corrections, and outreach from those serving these sentences and their families.
Upon release, individuals have been invited by the CFSY to join a network of people who were sentenced to juvenile life without parole and other extreme sentences as children called the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN). The accomplishments of ICAN members across the nation demonstrate that our communities are safer and stronger with these incredible people home. We have celebrated alongside formerly incarcerated people who have become violence intervention and prevention workers, youth mentors, credible messengers, substance abuse counselors, restorative justice practitioners, published authors, renowned artists, college graduates, proud parents, and even Pulitzer Prize winners. Among people formerly serving JLWOP, the recidivism rate is extremely low – estimated at just 1.14% in Pennsylvania.
“When news broke that 1,000 people sentenced to life without parole as children are now free, my mind instantly flashed back to a time not long ago when I sat in a 6×8 concrete box peering out a mesh and bar-covered window searching in the darkness for even a distant sign of hope. But all I saw was a sea of hopelessness and misery. My vision was far from faulty. Throughout the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, no life-sentenced child had reason to believe we’d ever be free,” said CFSY Co-Deputy Director Abd’Allah Lateef. “Decades later, as one of these fortunate 1,000, I’m elated to witness this milestone. But for those who remain caged behind bars and barbed wire fences, the CFSY continues the fight for their freedom as we truly believe, ‘none of us are free until all of us are free.’”
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For more information, or if you would like to arrange an interview, please contact Adam Kemerer at [email protected] | 412-728-2340.
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is a nonprofit that leads efforts to ban life-without-parole and other extreme sentences for children, and supports those incarcerated as children who are released after serving long sentences.