Advocates working to abolish life without parole (LWOP) sentences for juvenile offenders ("juvenile lifers") are hosting the "Juvenile Lifer Rally for Justice." The event will take place Sunday, June 18, 2017 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Erma Henderson Memorial Park, located at 8810 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48214.
The event is calling on:
- Prosecutors to uphold the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility statement as ministers of justice, to have more than a nominal commitment to rehabilitation, and stop delaying juvenile lifer resentencing hearings across the state;
- Judges to impose the minimum term-of-year sentence allowed pursuant to MCL 769.25 for all juvenile lifers being resentenced, which is currently a 25- to 60-year sentence; and
- Lawmakers to pass legislation giving jurisdiction to the Parole Board to begin reviewing all juvenile lifer cases for meaningful parole consideration annually after serving 20 years.
An online petition will also be launched that delivers emails to state lawmakers demanding passage of a 10-point prison reform platform that will impact every prisoner in the state. Included will be the restoring of good time, reducing the predatory pricing of prisoner phone calls, providing relief for prisoners serving life and long indeterminate sentences, and other important issues.
Additional information about the event and the 10-point prison reform platform is available by visiting: www.facebook.com/events/643683492488946.
The collaborative effort is being lead by Elena Herrada, adjunct professor at Marygrove College and Wayne County Community College, and Detroit Superstation AM 910 radio show host; and Efren Paredes, Jr., social justice advocate, blogger, and prisoner who was arrested in Berrien County at age 15 and sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) in 1989. Students attending Herrada's classes and others are also assisting organize the grassroots effort.
The "Juvenile Lifer Rally for Justice" has been endorsed by Amnesty International, ICAN (Incarcerated Childrens' Advocacy Network), The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Humanity for Prisoners, Peace Education Center of Greater Lansing, Human Rights Advocates, National Lifers of America, Inc. (Chapter 1030), LaSED (Latin American Social and Economic Development), St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Keep the Vote No Takeover, Detroit School Board in Exile, Operation Get Down, and others.
Those in attendance will include family members and supporters of juvenile lifers, youth advocates, attorneys, members of the faith-based community, legislators, representatives of civil and human rights organizations, bloggers, podcast producers, and members of the state and national television, print, and radio media.
Ideas for writing support letters and emails for juvenile lifers, making phone calls, doing radio interviews, submitting letters to the editor, and other ideas that can be helpful to advocating for the release of juvenile lifers will be discussed.
Attendees are encouraged to create posters and wear T-shirts expressing support for juvenile lifers from their respective areas. They should reflect images of communities embracing returning citizens and the reunification of families. People are encouraged to also display large photos of juvenile lifers.
T-shirt ideas can include slogans such as "End Juvenile Life Without Parole Sentences," "Support Second Chances for Youth," "Children Are Not Disposable," etc. People can also wear photos of juvenile lifers on T-shirts with the words "Free (Name of a juvenile lifer)" or just the words "Free (Name of a juvenile lifer)."
Efforts will also include urging citizens to vote against any prosecutors in the state who continue defying the U.S. Supreme Court by creating resentencing delays, abusing their authority, and arbitrarily pursuing LWOP sentences against juvenile lifers rather than term-of-year sentences.
Elected officials must be held accountable for their support of sentences that extinguish hope by being removed from office next election cycle. It is not the will of the people to viciously condemn youth to spend their entire lives in human cages.
According to Efren, "A sentence that perpetuates human storage in an austere world in which condemned prisoners are treated as bodies kept alive only to later be disposed of has no place in a civilized society."
In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory LWOP sentences for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional and ordered the resentencing of the 2,500 prisoners affected nationwide. Of that number Michigan imprisons 363 juvenile lifers.
In a landmark ruling 16 months ago the high court strongly urged judges and prosecutors to pursue term-of-year sentences for those prisoners being resentenced. It held that the reimposition of a LWOP sentence must be "rare," "uncommon," and only reserved for those persons "who are incapable of change."
Since that decision only a small fraction of Michigan's juvenile lifers have been resentenced. Prosecutors have orchestrated incessant delays that have resulted in the death of six juvenile lifers who have died while waiting to be resentenced over the past five years.
Michigan prosecutors have also defied the U.S. Supreme Court by widely expressing their intent to pursue LWOP sentences again for 228 of the state's 363 cases. This excessive number is hardly rare or uncommon.
To educate the public about ways they can urge prosecutors to desist their sentencing delay tactics, and shine a spotlight on the overall issue, Efren has been calling in to Herrada's radio show and classrooms to speak to college students. He is appearing on her radio show weekly to discuss the event, and is harnessing the power of his vast network to help grow the campaign to abolish juvenile LWOP sentences.
People are urged to begin tuning in to Detroit Superstation AM 910 weekly Sunday mornings between 7:00 am and 8:00 am to hear Efren and Herrada discuss continued efforts to organize the "Juvenile Lifer Rally for Justice."
People outside the broadcast listening area can hear the show in real-time on the AM 910 website and also listen to a taped version of interviews on YouTube in the days following the show. The YouTube links will appear on the Free Efren Facebook page available at www.fb.com/Free.Efren.
People interested in attending the Rally for Justice, assisting with organizing, and/or receiving email updates can send a message to event organizers via email to ElenaMHerrada2@gmail.com. Please put "Rally for Justice" in the subject line of the email.
Youth offenders have a remarkable capacity for change and deserve an opportunity to prove they possess redeemable qualities. State-sponsored death-by-incarceration is a deplorable policy that must be vehemently rejected and openly condemned by all people of conscience.
According to Efren, "We can not sit idly by and wait for prison reform to occur. We are all stakeholders in this very important matter. If we are not assertive with our agenda we will continue witnessing the same dismal results and failed representation by elected officials."
He added, "The addiction to constructing prisons as the solution to the crime problem has been an abysmal failure that has destroyed an untold number of lives and manifested itself as the school-to-prison pipeline. It has also created crushing images of self-contempt, personal alienation, and a poverty of thought."
Please invite friends and family members to attend the event, circulate the event widely on social media, and ask others to do the same. You can copy and paste the following sample paragraph to assist with this:
Support the "Juvenile Lifer Rally for Justice" on June 18, 2017 in Detroit and the 10-Point Prison Reform Platform that affects every female and male prisoner in the state serving short- and long-term sentences. Learn more about the event at: www.facebook.com/events/643683492488946. Please circulate link widely via social media platforms, email, post to blogs and media web site comment sections, and invite others to do the same.
