JUVENILE BOARD REPRESENTATION
Dennis, pictured with his family, was released through the juvenile parole process with support from pro bono attorneys from Perkins Coie.
During the tough on crime wave in the 1990s, laws allowing prosecutors to try juveniles as adults for certain crimes greatly increased the number of children we sent to prison. Today, the United States has the world’s highest youth incarceration rate. It is 6 to 10 times that of other developed nations. In Washington, about 1,300 youth were convicted in the adult system between 1994-2012.
Fortunately, scientific understanding of adolescent brains has developed greatly since that time and our legal system has taken note. In Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), the United States Supreme Court held that sentencing juveniles to life in prison is cruel and unusual punishment under the Constitution. In response to Miller, many states enacted laws to meet the constitutional requirements. These juveniles refer to themselves as the “Miller Family.”
In 2014, Washington responded to Miller by forming the Juvenile Parole Board, which allows individuals who were sentenced as juveniles to twenty years or more to appear before a sentence review board. Seattle Clemency Project matches individuals who were convicted as youth with free legal representation to go before the Juvenile Parole Board.
Jeremiah (J.J.)
Jeremiah was sentenced to life in prison when he was just 14 years old. It is hard to imagine how a teenager would move forward in the face of such a shocking and hopeless sentence, but Jeremiah found a way.
During his incarceration, Jeremiah dove into education and found reasons to hope for his future, fostering his growth. He earned a bachelor's degree, became a legal scholar and published several essays in The Crime Report, a nonprofit criminal justice news site. Jeremiah has said that pursuing higher education, "kept me from living in prison in my mind.” Since his release in 2019, Jeremiah has continued his pursuit of higher education and is currently enrolled in Gonzaga University School of Law.
Nothing about Jeremiah's extraordinary life has come easy, including his plea for freedom in light of his rehabilitation. With assistance from Seattle Clemency Project pro bono lawyers, Tom Hillier and Cara Wallace, Jeremiah's final battle with his life sentence was won, and he was given a second chance.
University of Washington Law, Societies & Justice Department
Partnership Spotlight
The Juvenile Parole Project allows Law, Societies & Justice students to volunteer on early release petitions for people eligible for juvenile parole. To assist their petitioner, students are paired with pro bono attorneys. With support from the Seattle Clemency Project, students help their attorneys generate a community support narrative, develop a reentry plan, and conduct legal visits. Read more about this partnership in the 2024 Juvenile Parole Project Report.