Former juvenile lifers to share their stories, talk about their return home at event at Wayne State University on Oct. 1
DETROIT, MI — Area residents will have an opportunity to hear former juvenile lifers share their stories of redemption and coming home and then ask them questions about their experiences at an upcoming event at Wayne State University. “Life Beyond Life: Stories of Hope and Healing” will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at the Bernath Auditorium, located inside Wayne State University’s Adamany Undergraduate Library. This is a free event, but people interested in attending are asked to register at bit.ly/lblevents. This event is sponsored by Safe & Just Michigan, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work.
The U.S. Supreme Court ended juvenile life without parole as a mandatory sentence through a series of rulings between 2012 and 2016, but it remains on the books in Michigan as an option judges can use at their discretion. Bills now before the Michigan Legislature (House Bills 4160-4164 and Senate Bills 119-123) would remove juvenile life without parole sentencing from Michigan as an option entirely. Those bills are currently awaiting hearings in committees. Currently, the U.S. is the only country in the world that sentences children to die in prison, and even in the U.S., Michigan is among a minority of states still using this sentence.
Since Michigan began releasing former juvenile lifers to come home, they have demonstrated a recidivism rate dramatically lower than that of the overall population. The state’s current recidivism rate is hovering near a record low, at 22.1 percent. However, the recidivism rate of former juvenile lifers is even lower — less than 5 percent.
This event will combine excerpts from videos from the Safe and Just Michigan storytelling project. Panelists will include former juvenile lifers Machelle Pearson, Lorenzo Harrell and Jose Burgos with SJM Community Engagement Specialist Ronnie Waters acting as moderator.
About Safe & Just Michigan: Safe & Just Michiganworks to advance policies that end Michigan’s over-use of incarceration and promote community safety and healing. We partner with Michigan organizations and leaders from across the political spectrum, including business and community leaders, faith communities, crime survivor organizations, formerly incarcerated individuals, prisoners and their families, as well as Michigan taxpayers statewide. Learn more
About the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth: The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth envisions the United States becoming a society that respects all children’s human rights and nurtures their capacity to become leaders, responding to any harm they cause in ways that are rooted in their dignity and unique potential for change. Together, we seek a response to the harm caused by children that is conscientious of childhood traumas, restorative and empowering to all parties, and equitable, especially with regard to race and ethnicity. Learn more
About the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice: The Wayne State University School of Social Work Center for Behavioral Health and envisions communities in which research, data, and best practices are used by multiple stakeholders to enhance the optimal well-being of individuals with mental illness and/or substance use disorders who come into contact with the criminal/legal system. Learn more