Restorative justice group: Very large circle of people hold hands indoors

New book by an author who journeyed from incarcerated juvenile to college professor teaching restorative justice

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Felix Rosado recently joined the Chestnut Hill College community as an inspiring and unconventional adjunct professor. Just two years ago he was serving a sentence of death by incarceration -- more commonly known as life without parole. He was freed via governor clemency after 27 years. Students say the class takeaways are improvements in their personal and professional lives -- worth the class time.

hands in handcuffs against black background

40 years ago, the US started sending more and more kids to prison without hope of release, but today, it’s far more rare – what happened?

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At the heart of this issue is whether it is appropriate to sentence children to die in prison, with no chance of being considered for release. Half a century ago, offenders in the U.S. of any age were rarely sentenced to life without parole, and it was not until 1978 that states began trying youths as adults. Between 1985 and 2001, however, youths convicted of murder were actually more likely to enter prison with a life sentence than adults convicted of the same crime.

death penalty: balding man seated at table.

Death Penalty Questions Getting More Input From Science

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When 15-year-old Luis Cruz joined the Latin Kings in 1991, he was a child by almost any measure: He couldn’t legally drive, drop out of school or buy a beer. But was he still a child a few years later when — just months after he turned 18 — he murdered two people on the orders of gang leaders?

Sparing Children from Life in Prison without Parole

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Jason Baldwin hopes to spare others from growing up, growing old – and dying – in prison. Baldwin, who was sentenced to life without parole at 16 for a crime he did not commit, served 18 years and since his release in 2011 has become a crusader against sentencing youths to life without parole. Baldwin brought his message to the nation’s capital Wednesday night at an annual reception and fundraiser of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, a national organization that seeks to abolish life-without-parole sentences for all youth.