Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and Clint Smith have been proud advocacy partners since 2018. Clint is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author, poet, criminal justice advocate, and one of our Healing & Hope Honorees. Clint first became connected to the CFSY while writing his doctoral dissertation, which focused on the 'juvenile lifer' population in Philadelphia and the role that education has played in their lives before, during, and after incarceration. Wanting to become more proximate to the community he was researching, Clint began volunteering inside prisons and jails, teaching literature and creative writing classes. Clint has been committed to using his platform to change the narrative around children who cause harm and to support those returning home after lengthy periods of incarceration. He spoke at CFSY’s National Convening in 2019, collaborated on a video on race and justice during the Covid-19 crisis in 2020, and spoke at a virtual CFSY event in 2021. Most incredibly, he graciously donated the 2020 royalties from his poetry book Counting Descent to CFSY. Clint has helped strengthen and grow CFSY’s network in innumerable ways. We're so excited to honor Clint this fall. If you’d like to join us, you can purchase tickets to our Healing & Hope reception here: https://buff.ly/4e9pa8V

Pennsylvania is one of only two U.S. states that mandate life-without-parole sentences for people convicted of felony murder. On October 8, our partners at the Abolitionist Law Center will argue in front of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that this practice is overly cruel and in direct violation of their state constitution. If successful, this case could pave the way to freedom for more than 1,000 people currently serving life sentences for murders they didn't commit.

Herschella Conyers is a nationally recognized expert in juvenile justice reform. Beginning her career at the Cook County's public defender's office and eventually becoming the Director of the University of Chicago Mandel Legal Aid Clinic's Criminal and Juvenile Justice Project, she has dedicated her career to protecting the rights of children. In 1989, only three years into her tenure at the public defender's office, Herschella took on the case of 13-year-old Xavier McElrath-Bey. Xavier was yet another deeply traumatized and troubled child on her caseload being charged with first degree murder and facing a virtual life sentence of 60 years. Even amidst the horrible narratives that surrounded kids in the justice system, she decided that she was going to fight for Xavier as if he were her own child. After a tearful and impassioned meeting with the prosecutor and judge, Herschella was able to convince the state to offer Xavier a lesser consequence of a 25 year sentence. Throughout the years Xavier and Herschella have developed an incredible bond. As the Executive Director of the CFSY, Xavier sees Herschella as an integral part of his journey and success and has taken the example she set of compassion and advocacy into every piece of his work. The impact she has had on Xavier and so many other children who have come in contact with the legal system cannot be overstated. It is with great pleasure that in the first year of Xavier’s tenure as the Executive Director we will get to honor Herschella for her lifelong career of service to protect our most vulnerable children in the justice system at our Healing & Hope Reception this fall.

We would like to honor the memory of John Czere, one of our beloved members of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN) who suddenly passed away last week. Fondly referred to as ‘Papa Bear’ by some in our community, John was sentenced to life without parole as a child in Louisiana, coming home to live with his family after 42 years of incarceration. He immediately connected with his ICAN community upon release, becoming an integral part of what ICAN is today. John loved to show up with and for us and he always did so with enthusiasm, humor, and warmth. We last saw John at our community care retreat in June, pictured here, where we shared laughs and tears together over all that he had overcome and who he had become: a great man, dedicated to using his second chance to give back to his community. One of the ways John gave back was as an educator. While incarcerated, John became a class instructor, helping many young men receive their GEDs, as pictured here. His knack for teaching continued after coming home where he volunteered as a tutor twice a week. He often spoke of how proud he was of his students, including one who learned English to take college courses and recently started her own business. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of John, including his great-niece who he frequently babysat, and particularly his mother who is losing her son for the second time - the first being when he was sentenced to die in prison. It’s not lost on us that extreme prison sentences have negative health impacts that shorten the lifespans of our community. The world would have been a better place with John in it for longer. Please join us in remembering John and access resources for taking care of yourselves in times of grief: https://lnkd.in/eBE6kwMk

Dwain Thomas has been incarcerated since he was 15 and has had an exemplary prison record, attaining multiple professional and educational certificates and positive recommendations from parole investigators. Yet, he has been denied parole five times in the past 15 years.  Under Oklahoma's current process, the parole board does not have a different set of criteria when reviewing cases of individuals who were under the age of 18 at the time of their arrest. In a sweeping federal lawsuit, Thomas argues that this process violates multiple Supreme Court cases that declared children fundamentally different from adults and must give them a meaningful opportunity to be released if they show maturity and rehabilitation.

It was four days before Christmas in 1995 when Sharletta Evans' 3-year-old son Casson, better known as Biscuit, was murdered in a drive-by shooting. It wasn't until Christmas Eve, when the suspects were arrested, that Sharletta learned the shooters were three teenage boys. During their trials, still in shock and riddled with grief, Sharletta was confused how three young boys had access to guns and wondered what had happened in their lives to lead them down this path of violence. The district attorney, determined to use the boys to "set an example," charged two of them as adults. One of them, Raymond Johnson, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at only 16 years old. Initially feeling like justice was served, in the ensuing years, Sharletta realized that her healing journey had to start with forgiveness. In 2012, Sharletta and Raymond participated in Colorado's first-ever victim-offender meeting. Sharletta learned of Raymond's troubled home life growing up, the actions he took inside prison to better himself, and the genuine remorse he felt for the pain he caused her family. Sharletta fearlessly took her pain, brokenness, and grief and transformed them into the power of forgiveness and love for Raymond. In that first meeting, Sharletta 'adopted' him as her son and has been on the front lines of ending juvenile life without the possibility of parole ever since. After years of lobbying for his release, Sharletta welcomed Raymond home in 2021. Wanting to help other survivors navigate their own grief journeys and empower them to become instruments of change, Sharletta founded the Colorado Crime Survivors Network, an organization dedicated to promoting the healing process between survivors and children who cause harm through their restorative justice campaigns. Although tragedy brought her to this work, Sharletta’s impact on the movement to end the extreme sentencing of youth is immeasurable. For more testimonies of those impacted by youth violence and the extreme sentencing of youth who have found healing, visit Restorative Stories: https://lnkd.in/e7QidxCg

#BREAKING: An Alaska appeals court has issued a ruling that will allow individuals given extreme or de facto life sentences as children an opportunity for resentencing. With resentencing hearings starting in December, this decision has the potential to affect nearly a dozen people. The Alaskan court ruled that judges must consider the adolescent brain science that proves children are fundamentally different from adults during sentencing and applied it retroactively for those already serving virtual life sentences. While Alaska has already banned the use of juvenile life without the possibility of parole, there are individuals who are serving 100+ years for harm they committed as children. This verdict gives them a meaningful chance at freedom. “When we read that decision, we burst out into tears. This is what we’ve been waiting for, hoping for something like this.” - NFN member, Angela Hall.

Earlier this month, our partners at Safe and Just Michigan hosted a screening of "Life Beyond Life", which chronicles the stories of formerly incarcerated individuals who were once sentenced to juvenile life without the possibility of parole (JLWOP)  in Michigan. After the screening, the CFSY’s Michigan Campaign Coordinator, Jose Burgos, moderated a panel of fellow former ‘juvenile lifers’ where they discussed their experiences growing up inside the Michigan prison system, the positive impact they’ve had on their communities since coming home, and called on Michigan to end the practice of sentencing children to die in prison. Michigan has the unfortunate distinction of being home to the largest population of individuals serving JLWOP, it’s time they join the majority of states and #BanJLWOP.

Hope benefits us all.

Rebecca Weiker remembers her sister as a committed advocate for justice and healing. Even though she lost her sister to youth violence, Rebecca believes that it dishonors her sister’s memory every time a young person is sentenced to die in prison. Rebecca’s sister, Wendy, was a talented therapist who was tragically killed by one of her young clients. For over 20 years, Rebecca has not shed the heartache and deep sadness that comes from not having her big sister in the world. In processing her grief with others, Rebecca was struck by how her experience of profound loss is shared by the family members of young people who cause harm and are given extreme sentences. She also understands that so many young people who cause harm were victims of harm themselves and that these experiences are the impetus for a cycle of violence. “I can't bring my sister back,” Rebecca says. “But when I imagine stopping those ever-widening circles from flowing outward, I can feel her presence.” Instrumental in passing a law in California that gave more than 300 young people serving life without parole a chance for review, she chooses to respond to harm in ways that can mend, restore, and transform. As the Co-Director of the Mend Collaborative, an organization that facilitates restorative justice dialogues, Rebecca is doing exactly that. She founded the Mend Collaborative with Miguel Quezada, who was formerly incarcerated for the violence he committed in his youth. Together, they are dedicated to providing survivors the opportunity to share their experiences with harm and incarcerated people the opportunity to express their accountability and remorse while gaining insight into the harm they caused. In her view, without addressing harm together, how are we to prevent it?  Learn more about Rebecca’s leadership in restorative justice and transformative healing here. In her view, without addressing harm together, how are we to prevent it?  Read Rebecca’s 'Restorative Story' in our new and growing storybank, featuring testimonies of those impacted by youth violence and the extreme sentencing of youth who have found healing through restorative justice: https://lnkd.in/e7QidxCg