The rest of the world and the majority of U.S. states agree that sentencing children to die in prison is wrong.

It is also wrong that 90% of life without parole sentences  in Michigan since 2012 have been imposed on children of color. It is wrong that Michigan has failed over the past decade to end this sentence despite the fact that polls show  overwhelming support against sentencing children to die in prisons.

But we are happy to report that with the introduction in the Michigan Legislature of Senate Bills 119-23 and House Bills 4160-64, this year our state has an opportunity to right these wrongs.

We both know a little about righting wrongs. 

Families and supporters of juvenile lifers, even including victims, lobbied the Michigan legislature in 2006 to end JLWOP; Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy spoke against the proposed bills.

We are two of the hundreds of children that were once sentenced to die in Michigan prisons, serving a combined 67 years as we were each convicted of first-degree murder. It pains us to say that when we were kids, we were separately responsible for the loss of lives ― lives we can never give back. Our actions are tragic examples of harm committed by children and representations of the ways in which youth with high levels of trauma are more prone to committing serious crimes.

Kuntrell Jackson and Evan Miller, plaintiffs in Miller v. Alabama/Jackson v. Hobbs ruling against JLWOP. They were each 14 when they sentenced.

Yet today, we stand as shining examples of the ways children can transform their lives. We are remorseful for the harm caused by our crimes. We accept full responsibility for our actions and have asked both God and humankind for forgiveness. Now fully rehabilitated and mature adults, we stand ready to be a positive influence on the communities we serve and society at large.

Brain science tells us that there is plenty of hope and tremendous potential for children to transform over time and ultimately choose a path of moral fortitude. It is up to all of us to ensure our laws and systems extend hope and the possibility of a second chance to those children.

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled through Miller v. Alabama that mandatory life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional, this gave each of us the incredible gift of hope with glimpses of freedom. Recognizing and encouraging our capacity for internal growth, it was the power of hope that made the two of us who we are today.

Some of Michigan’s juvenile lifers waiting for release after 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Montgomery v. Louisiana which made Miller retroactive:                                      (l to r, top through bottom row), Cortez Davis, Raymond Carp, Dakotah Eliason, Henry Hill, Keith Maxey (still in prison 2023), Dontez Tillman, Charles Lewis, Jemal Tipton, Nicole Dupure, Giovanni Casper, Jean Cintron, Matthew Bentley, Bosie Smith, Kevin Boyd, Damion Todd, Jennifer Pruitt, Edward Sanders, David Walton (photos show some lifers at current age, others at age they went to prison).  Collage from VOD’s ongoing coverage of JLWOP in Michigan.

Six years after the court ruled in Miller, Jose was re-sentenced to the 27 years he had served and freed. It took eight years for Ronnie to be re-sentenced and released; he served a total of 40 years. We know firsthand that SB 119-23 and HB 4160-64 is legislation that will offer life-changing hope to those who have demonstrated transformation.

Henry Montgomery was released in 2021 after 57 years in prison since age 17 Photo: EJI

Henry Montgomery Released After 57 Years in Prison for Crime at 17 (eji.org)

[VOD: Thousands of juvenile lifers had their re-sentencings delayed after Miller until the U.S. Supreme Court followed up with Montgomery v. Louisiana in 2016, ruling that Miller was retroactive. Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy, in league with former Michigan AG , filed briefs to stop the final Montgomery ruling.]

While legislation to release people sent to prison as children may not sound like part of a conventional public safety strategy, our experience is that former juvenile lifers have been integral to preventing harm and improving safety in our communities. As the very people who can understand and resonate with what young people are going through and the vast potential they have to overcome their mistakes and do good, we’ve been working hard to give our young people better futures.

We work at Safe and Just Michigan, an organization that advocates for safe and smart reforms to our criminal justice system and Project Re-Entry at the State Appellate Defender Office which does important work for returning citizens in Michigan by offering guidance before release and wraparound services when people come home.

Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy opposed state legislation introduced in 2006 to outlaw JLWOP, then joined former Michigan AG Bill Schuette trying to stop Miller v. Alabama becoming retroactive in 2016 with Montgomery v. Louisiana; recommended re-sentencing to JLWOP for most Wayne County juvenile lifers.

We have seen the track record of what former juvenile lifers are capable of doing for the people of Michigan and the countless, creative ways in which we have poured our energy into preventing harm and promoting community wellbeing. We are the track record. And statistically speaking, more than 98.86% of former juvenile lifers age out of crime and lean into a positive future. The juvenile lifers who have been given second chances in Michigan are doing amazing, imaginative things to serve their communities and make them safer and stronger. Giving second chances to more deserving juvenile lifers will give all of Michigan more of this creativity, this safety, and this strength.

Edward Sanders helped organize rally for juvenile lifers still in MDOC in Jan. 2021

Today, we are part of a strong community of individuals who made harmful mistakes as children and who want nothing more than to prevent other children from making the same mistakes we did.  We are all holding each other to account, and we are all there for each other. The lot of us are constantly picking up the phone to see what one another needs – clothes, a phone, a ride home, a refrigerator – you name it. We’re a close-knit family now, tied together by the wrongs we have committed, the debts we are paying to society, but most importantly the people we’re trying to become.

We are filled with hope that this is the year that Michigan bans life sentences for children, joining over half of the country and the rest of the world in recognizing every child’s potential for redemption. Our work across Michigan has demonstrated to us that the people of this state are overwhelmingly prepared to promote redemption and stop sentencing children to life without parole. As two people who will spend the rest of their lives working to right their wrongs, we are optimistic that our own state will put in the work to right a historical wrong and pass SB 119-23/HB 4160-64. We ask the Michigan Legislature to guarantee that we never sentence a child to die in prison again.