Finally Free After Decades Locked up, a Former DC Resident is Shackled Again — This Time on a Deportation Flight
Third in a three-part series on a teenager with a tumultuous childhood who was sent to die in prison and where his life would lead. The following narrative was compiled from interviews and court records.
Sylvia A. Harvey Feb 13, 2023
Massachusetts Could Loosen Life Without Parole Restrictions For Young People
Justices in the state’s highest court are weighing whether it is unconstitutional to sentence people convicted of murder and aged 18 to 20 to life without parole.
Ella Fassler Jun 30, 2021
North Carolina’s Clemency Process is a ‘Black Box,’ Advocates Say
Even with the recent creation of the Juvenile Sentence Review Board, the governor’s process for granting clemency remains unclear.
Katie Jane Fernelius May 21, 2021
For Years, I Didn’t Have An Outlet For Self-Growth In Prison. Now That I Do, I Can Address The Harm I’ve Caused.
Truitt Watts, who is serving a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole at Oregon State Correctional Institution, describes the programs that helped him recover from addiction and address his past.
Truitt Watts Oct 13, 2020
Far From Being Beyond Saving, Prison Youth Deserve Every Opportunity For Meaningful Rehabilitation
We should demand that prison officials and our elected representatives honor their constitutional obligation to promote and support youth healing, growth, and change.
Mark Wilson Sep 14, 2020
Minors Sentenced To Life Without Parole Deserve More Than Scare Tactics When Transitioning To Adult Prisons
If the justice system’s goal is to produce healthy, safe, and productive members of society, then it must begin with support from corrections staff and healthy relationships with peers.
Anthony Richardson Jul 22, 2020
I Killed My Brother When I Was 17. Now I’m Saving Lives In Prison.
Cayce French, who is serving life in prison at the Oregon State Correctional Institution, describes how getting clean and participating in rehabilitation programs has transformed his identity.
Cayce French Apr 27, 2020
I Was a Child When The State Sentenced Me To Die In Prison. But I Found A Path To Redemption In A Community Of Lifers.
I learned later than I should have what you probably already know: that it is strength not weakness to lean on somebody when you feel vulnerable and defeated and let them help you.
Seth Koch Mar 13, 2020
In Oregon, a Hopeful Sign for Those Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms as Children
The state’s attorney general decided to support resentencing hearings in two high-profile cases, though she had fought appeals in the past.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 12, 2020
Remaking Our Legal System With More Compassion And Humanity Is Necessary And Urgent Work
The Appeal and Oregon Justice Resource Center announce “Left Behind,” firsthand accounts of growing-up in prison from individuals sentenced as children.
Bobbin Singh Mar 03, 2020
The Supreme Court Ruled That Sentences Like Hers Are Unconstitutional. Prosecutors Are Fighting To Keep Her Incarcerated.
Prosecutor Jessica Cooper of Oakland County, Michigan, has aggressively pursued life without the possibility of parole for children, critics say. She recommended the sentence for Barbara Hernández, who at 16 was a ‘slave’ to an abusive boyfriend who drew her into a plan that ended in murder.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 09, 2019
A Deadly Father-And-Son Bank Robbery Raises Questions About Culpability and The Adolescent Mind
Christopher Lay grew up under the influence of a father who was mentally ill. Drawn into a crime at age 19, he’s now seeking a second chance that could help other young adults demand the same.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 18, 2019
Sentenced to Life Without Parole at 17 and Denied Freedom at 52
Richard Kinder thought he would die in an Alabama prison until the Supreme Court ruled mandatory juvenile life without parole unconstitutional. But last year, despite a judge concluding there was “uncontradicted evidence” that Kinder had worked to rehabilitate himself, the state parole board refused him release.
Lauren Gill Aug 07, 2019
D.C. Shows Mercy For People Who Committed Crimes As Children, But Prosecutors Are Fighting Back
U.S. attorneys in D.C. have opposed the resentencing of all 14 people who have petitioned for early release under a local law.
Kira Lerner May 23, 2019
Sentenced To Life At 16 In Slaying Of Man Who She Said Pulled A Gun On Her
In 1996, Michele Benjamin was sentenced to life without parole for killing a man who she said solicited her for sex and menaced her with a weapon in New Orleans. A Supreme Court decision led her to be re-sentenced to life with a chance at parole in 2016. Today, a parole hearing brings the possibility of freedom.
Josie Duffy Rice Feb 11, 2019
Justice in America Episode 13: Juvenile Justice
Josie and Clint interview Abd’Allah Lateef, Pennsylvania Coordinator for the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network.
Josie Duffy Rice, Clint Smith Jan 30, 2019
Pennsylvania Case Challenges ‘Death by Incarceration’ for 18-year-olds
Recent Supreme Court rulings have led to a review of life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed at age 17 and younger, but attorneys for Avis Lee say there’s no reason to stop there.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 12, 2018
An Alabama Prosecutor Locked Up 4 Black Teens For A Murder They Didn’t Commit. Now He’s Trying 2 More.
Two teenagers are facing life without parole sentences for capital murder, though it’s not clear they pulled the trigger.
George Joseph Oct 04, 2018
Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life?
A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado.
Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 2018
The Appeal Podcast Episode 6: The Unique Cruelty of Sentencing Children to Life Without Parole
With journalist Victoria Law.
Adam H. Johnson Jun 28, 2018
Louisiana Denies Parole to Man Behind a Supreme Court Ruling Limiting Life Sentences for Children
By all accounts, 71-year-old Henry Montgomery is not the same man he was when he was 17. In 1963, Montgomery skipped school and encountered Charles H. Hurt, a plainclothes sheriff’s deputy, in the woods. In a panic, he shot and killed Hurt with his grandfather’s gun.
Aviva Shen Feb 21, 2018
Louisiana Denies Parole to Man Behind a Supreme Court Ruling Limiting Life Sentences for Children
By all accounts, 71-year-old Henry Montgomery is not the same man he was when he was 17. In 1963, Montgomery skipped school and encountered Charles H. Hurt, a plainclothes sheriff’s deputy, in the woods. In a panic, he shot and killed Hurt with his grandfather’s gun. A Baton Rouge, Louisiana jury convicted Montgomery of murder […]
Aviva Shen Feb 21, 2018