Paroled and still doing well: Accounting for success among juvenile offenders sentenced to life

• In Event: New beginnings? Rehabilitation and Recidivism of Juveniles Adjudicated as Adults

Abstract

How likely are offenders who committed their crimes as juveniles (younger than sixteen) able to manage their return to society after having served the minimum of their life sentence? In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Miller decision, states must consider the possibility of parole for juveniles no matter how serious their offense. They must also develop procedures for considering the risks of recidivism for this unique population of offenders sentenced as juveniles. This paper provides an assessment of the risks based on qualitative and quantitative sources of data. First, I draw on personal interviews with offenders who were paroled and managed to stay paroled for more than ten years. I explore the relational reasons for why this group of successful parolees was able to adjust to life on the outside, despite having spent most of their late adolescence and adulthood incarcerated. The support that offenders received while incarcerated and once released is discussed. I further place those successfully paroled in the context of a larger population of juvenile offenders and their risks of recidivism.

Author

• Simon Singer, Northeastern University