Unshackled: Stories of Redemption Among Serious Youth Offenders

In a series of decisions concerning child defendants, the United States Supreme Court has embraced the understanding, based on adolescent brain development, that the legal system must recognize children are different than adults concerning criminal culpability and sentencing. That recognition, culminating in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana, led to the opportunity for thousands of individuals across the country, initially sentenced to death-in-prison sentences when they were minors, to gain a meaningful opportunity for release. These cases permanently banned mandatory life sentences for children. In Virginia, the legislature now allows reconsideration of these cases through hearings before the parole board, through which the agency can consider these individuals for early release from incarceration. The legislature mandated that the parole board consider the attributes of youth not previously considered in these individuals’ original sentencings. This article explores the ways in which some of these young people have engaged in a journey of redemption that has led to their release on parole. As a society, we have been overly reliant on extreme punishment and law enforcement to address our failure to protect and support children in marginalized communities. Some states are finally beginning to recognize the flawed logic underlying these practices. Virginia has made positive strides to reform the juvenile criminal legal system. The legislature mandated that courts consider adverse childhood experiences, foster-care involvement, and other hardships before sentencing young people to prison. These reforms are a step towards developing evidence-based responses to criminal involvement that hold young people accountable and consider the root causes of their criminal involvement.