YSRP Co-Director Lauren Fine on WHYY’s Radio Times
Radio Times’ host Marty Moss-Coane (third from left) with PA Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, freed juvenile lifer Tyrone Jones and YSRP Co-Director Lauren Fine
On Thursday, September 29, 2016, WHYY’s Radio Times looked at the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Montgomery v. Louisiana for the more than 300 people from Philadelphia serving now unconstitutional life sentences that were imposed when they were youth. YSRP Co-Director Lauren Fine was a guest on the show, and was honored to share the airwaves with Tyrone Jones, a juvenile lifer who has been out for 29 days after being incarcerated for 43 years, and with PA Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel.
For Pennsylvania’s 500 juvenile lifers who now face the prospect of resentencing and possible release, Lauren Fine urges, “It’s very important that the sentencing process be very individualized, but also the reentry process as well. There’s no set checklist of ‘you’ve done these 5 things and now you’ve successfully reentered.’ For us, the reentry process should begin long before someone comes home.” Listen to the full segment above.
The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee voted to advance HB 1381 today, which YSRP hopes will usher in a more humane era of support and care for youth involved in the criminal legal system.
YSRP staff gathered on February 1, 2023, to celebrate freedom and commemorate the 7th anniversary of the landmark Montgomery v. Louisiana US Supreme Court decision with former Juvenile Lifers, advocates, and movement leaders.
After a rigorous national search led by YSRP’s Board of Directors and supported by Monday Morning Consultants, YSRP is thrilled to announce Bianca van Heydoorn as the new Executive Director.
On November 22, 2022, PBS Newshour aired a segment spotlighting Pennsylvania's practice of automatically charging children as adults, and the movement to end it.
