Maryland's Juvenile Restoration Act has been in effect for more than a year now and its impact has people talking about additional reforms. The act created a path for people who were convicted of crimes as minors and have served 20 years or more to file a motion to have their sentence reduced.

More than 200 individuals incarcerated in Maryland are eligible for consideration under the JRA.

Brian Saccenti, director of the Decarceration Initiative at the state's Office of the Public Defender, said as of mid-November, 42 cases have been decided and the courts granted some relief in 30 of them, with 25 of those resulting in the person being released. Saccenti hopes the success of these first cases will lead to more reforms.

"People who have been released, it hasn't been that long, but they've done very well," he said. "We've had no recidivism, no problems with the law, no problems with violations of probation. They've done great so far, and we expect that to continue. So their success will be, I hope, a basis to consider similar reforms for other groups of people."

He believes additional reforms are possible with elderly prisoners who have served long sentences, as well as people convicted of crimes between the ages of 18 and early twenties who have served a significant amount of time.

The act mandates that the court can only reduce a sentence if the person would not pose a danger to public safety. Saccenti said the act is based in part on the idea that most people don't fully mature until their mid twenties.

"Eighteen is not a magic number, Saccenti said. It's not like you turn 18 and all of a sudden you're wise and mature and making good decisions. And the science bears that out, the parts of the brain that regulate decision making, and emotions, and risk taking, really don't mature until about the mid-20s."

The Office of the Public Defender approaches these cases by assembling a legal team to work with social workers and re-entry specialists to create a release plan to help the individual transition from incarceration to freedom.

More than half of U.S. states have already banned life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles. North Carolina isn't one of them - yet.

In a panel discussion with the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, state Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Whitsett, said he backs the need for a scientific approach to address the issues of youth development and criminal justice.

"There needs to be retribution, punishment and so forth, and justice, when certain crimes are committed," he said, "but if the brain is not fully developed, I think we have to take that scientific fact into account."

Many advocates have argued that a sentence without the possibility of hope or incentive for self-improvement for the young offender falls short. However, critics of ending the threat of life sentences have voiced concerns about the impact on victims and public safety.

Also on the panel, North Dakota state Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, highlighted her state as an example of banning juvenile "life without parole" sentences. With unanimous approval of legislation in 2017, Larson said, North Dakota has prioritized the role of the parole board and eliminated the possibility of life without parole.

"We all think that people who commit terrible crimes should be held accountable; they should be answerable for their crimes," she said. "But there needs to be some opportunity for them to grow up, learn from what they've done, make better choices."

Formerly incarcerated at 16, panelist Anthony Willis spent more than two decades in a North Carolina prison for murder. He received clemency from Gov. Roy Cooper, and offered his own story as a testament to the power of change. Willis said he believes the possibility of eventually going home serves as a powerful motivator for people behind bars, thus fostering a safer environment for prisoners and staff.

"As a teenager, it's very hard to go to prison as a child. Everything that you were taught from your parents, that goes out the window," he said. "It's a totally different culture while you're in prison and you don't really have that guidance, that mentor, that person to try to help you develop into an adult. So, if you have a 'life without parole' sentence, there is no incentive at all to do the right thing."

Willis and others said the key to North Carolina changing its juvenile sentencing practices lies in considering all parties, focusing on rehabilitation and determining the resources needed for successful re-entry.


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Advocates for juvenile justice reform recently gathered in Chicago to find ways to keep young people out of the criminal justice system.

Herschella Conyers, board chair of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, said part of the work needs to happen in schools. If schools were transformed into welcoming neighborhood activity centers, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Conyers believes children would see better educational outcomes and stay out of trouble.

"I know that's bold, I know that costs tax dollars," Conyers acknowledged. "But God, aren't we spending tons of money already for the wrong things that have not worked? And the cost of incarcerating a child is not a small cost."

In 2020, Gov. Pritzker announced plans to transform the state's juvenile justice system in four years, by moving incarcerated youth out of adult facilities, increasing wraparound supports and intervention, and boosting financial support for victims. But groups advocating for juvenile justice reform said the work is far from complete.

Joshua Brooks, restorative justice hubs coordinator for the Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice at Adler University, said the work of bringing offenders, victims and community members together to repair harm done is the number one intervention communities want. But young people need to be fully reintegrated into communities, or they just end up back on the streets.

"Restorative justice has been known to reduce recidivism," Brooks noted. "That's true, it does. But also, if a person who exits out the criminal justice system gets a job, and is employed, that reduces recidivism too."

Scott Main, assistant director of the Illinois Juvenile Defender Resource Center, pointed to recent brain studies showing youths do not fully understand the consequences of their actions until age 25. He pointed to states like Vermont, where they are not willing to put juveniles in adult court until they have reached full maturity.

"We should look to Washington D.C. and California that has second-look legislation, looking at sentencing for individuals up to the age of 25," Main urged. "Illinois hasn't done enough, we need to keep pushing forward."

The number of children locked behind bars in Alabama has declined, but their advocates said more needs to be done to create alternatives to incarceration.

A one-day count of detained youths in 2021 was nearly 25,000 nationwide, which is a 60% decline over the past decade, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Josh Rovner, director of youth justice for The Sentencing Project, said while the trend is positive, he does not expect it to continue. He pointed out at least part of the decrease was because of the pandemic.

"When you think about the things that kids get arrested for, it's often school-based referrals," Rovner observed. "And if virtual school is happening, then kids aren't going to be referred by their school resource officers. They're not going to be shoplifting if all the stores are closed; they're not going to be getting into fights f they're all staying at home."

In Alabama, a one-day count of young people behind bars in 2019 saw almost 800 detained. By 2021, the number had dropped to 678. Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's study showed young people released from correctional confinement have high rates of rearrest and new convictions.

Research has shown children who are incarcerated often experience significant long-term consequences, which Rovner noted persist into adulthood.

"Whether there's one child who is locked up -- or 10,000 or 100,000 -- it's important to realize just how toxic these facilities are for kids," Rovner contended. "They have much worse outcomes, not only on their education and career achievements, but also much more likely to reoffend."

Recognizing the adverse effects, experts and activists are asking for a more compassionate approach to juvenile justice. Reforms focusing on rehabilitation and community-based support systems have proven to be more effective in addressing the underlying issues than locking juveniles up.