From the Article: “The Supreme Court Said Their Sentencing Was Unconstitutional….”

Reporter Katie Rose Quandt takes a wide-angle view of how, in the years since the 2016 Montgomery v. Louisiana US Supreme Court decision, and the series of decisions preceding it, resentencing opportunities have or have not been made available for individuals serving now-unconstitutional juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) sentences. The article reveals the incongruous nature in which states have responded to the Court’s ruling by either providing meaningful opportunities for release from prison, or denying these opportunities either outright or by default. 

YSRP’s Co-Director, Joanna Visser Adjoian, and Reentry Coordinator, John Pace, were interviewed for the story. In it, YSRP’s support for former Juvenile Lifers in Philadelphia is highlighted in a city that has welcomed home more than 70% of the 521 individuals statewide who had been serving JLWOP sentences. 

Mr. Pace, himself a former Juvenile Lifer, speaks about the determination of the community of former Juvenile Lifers on the outside:

‘Why are peo­ple being suc­cess­ful and … not going back [to prison]?’ asks YSRP Reen­try Coor­di­na­tor John Pace, who was resen­tenced from JLWOP and released in 2017. ​’It’s about the resilien­cy of the indi­vid­ual, being appre­cia­tive of the oppor­tu­ni­ty and tak­ing advan­tage of it.’