I Was A Child In An Adult Prison System. Now I Fight For Those, Like Me, Who Deserve A Brighter Future When They’re Released As a staff member of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, I fight for all children, especially those impacted by systemic racism in our criminal justice system. Catherine Jones
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
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
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
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
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
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
He Entered Prison As a ‘Whiskerless Kid.’ Will Oregon Ever Let Him Out? Despite supporting Oregon’s new juvenile justice law, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is still fighting to keep people in prison who received life sentences as minors. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
