One of those days that truly matters....

For Chris and me, the thousands of people serving juvenile life without parole sentences, and the tens of thousands of family members and concerned citizens that support them, June 25, 2012 will forever be remembered as the day the United States Supreme Court banned mandatory life in prison sentences for youth - or, perhaps more importantly, the day our hope was renewed.


Yesterday was made even more special because we reached our goal  - raising over $2000 to help the people affected by this ruling transition home from prison! Of course, with this ruling, the need is even greater. We are eternally indebted to everyone who donated and thereby made it easier for families to welcome their loved ones home. 

HUGE Thanks for:

Eric Hardin
Sarah McCall
Emily More
Kristin Hoddinott
Nicole Varma
Megan Caldwell
Arin Rollingher
Brian Weberg
MaryClare Peak & Dan Marlow
Casey Hughes
Kristin Wenstrom
Lauren Sanchez
Matt Wolf
Connie & Gregg Orians, as well as Belle, Cassius and Elbert
Cindy Wood
Carl Boand
Travis Massman
Nancy, Terry & Samantha Blankenship
Caitlin Boyce
Carrie Ann Alford
Ryan Basta
Daniel Gutman
Eliza Willamson
MaryJane Burch
Lou Szkatulski (in memory of her daughter Cherri Saltzman)
Nathan Peyer
Amy, Michael and Montgomery Sobol
Lauren Shapiro
Iva Blankenship
Sue Blankenship Boltz
Joanne Talarico
Betty and Bruce Hediger
The Pineda Family
Dan Nibler
Michaela Kovaks
Travis Martin

Because of this ruling, a good friend of Chris's and mine (who at 15 years  of age was sentenced  to life in prison with no hope of release) will now, at 63, finally be able to return to court and have his sentence reviewed. There are hundreds more people like this in Louisiana who for the first time in decades were able to get a good night's sleep knowing the highest court in the United States of America has finally heard their calls for help. Yesterday was one of those days that truly matter. 

My thoughts, positive energy, and encouraging vibes go out to all of the advocates in Louisiana and across the country who are acting upon this decision - there is a lot of work to be done. 

Thank you to everyone who has donated time and money to spread the word about this crisis.

To provide more in depth information on this ruling, we have provided the formal statement issued by the Equal Justice Initiative (Legal Representatives for Kuntrell Jackson and Evan Miller):

The U.S. Supreme Court today issued an historic ruling in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs holding that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger convicted of homicide are unconstitutional. Kuntrell Jackson and Evan Miller, sentenced to life in prison without parole at 14, are now entitled to new sentencing hearings. Today’s ruling will affect hundreds of individuals whose sentences did not take their age or other mitigating factors into account.

The Court today struck down statutes in 29 states that provide for mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children, reasoning that mandatory imposition of life-without-parole sentences on children “contravenes Graham’s (and also Roper’s) foundational principle: that imposition of a State’s most severe penalties on juvenile offenders cannot proceed as though they were not children.”

"This is an important win for children. The Court took a significant step forward by recognizing the fundamental unfairness of mandatory death-in-prison sentences that don't allow sentencers to consider the unique status of children and their potential for change," said Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who represents Jackson and Miller. "The Court has recognized that children need additional attention and protection in the criminal justice system.”

Today’s decision requires the lower courts to conduct new sentencing hearings where judges will have to consider children’s individual characters and life circumstances, including age, as well as the circumstances of the crime.

While the Court did not categorically ban juvenile life without parole in all circumstances, Justice Kagan wrote for the majority that, “given all we have said in Roper, Graham, and this decision about children’s diminished culpability and heightened capacity for change, we think appropriate occasions for sentencing juveniles to this harshest possible penalty will be uncommon.”

Stevenson cautioned, however, that sentencing courts’ discretion must be exercised in an informed and thoughtful way that acknowledges that children are biologically different than adults and less responsible for their wrongdoing, and that the courts should provide the individuals affected by the ruling a meaningful opportunity to show they have rehabilitated themselves and are appropriate candidates for release.

Stevenson added that historically, race and poverty have been powerful forces in influencing which children receive life-without-parole sentences.

Today's decision follows the Court's earlier rulings in Roper v. Simmons (2005) and Graham v. Florida (2010), which acknowledge the diminished culpability of children.

Groups as diverse as the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, the American Bar Association, mental health professionals, former juvenile court judges, criminologists, victims, and national advocacy organizations filed amicus briefs in the cases to urge the Court to give children an opportunity to have their sentences reviewed later in life.