Understanding the Experience of a Juvenile Life without Parole Sentence and Re-Entry Subsequent to PA 15-84: Findings from a Participatory Project

Background and Purpose: Although incarceration rates in the U.S. have declined since 2007, most legislative reforms aimed at further reductions have overlooked individuals serving long-term sentences for violent offenses (Daftary-Kapur et al., 2022). Among this population are juveniles sentenced to life without parole (JLWOP) or to de facto life sentences extending beyond natural lifespans (Abrams et al., 2023). To comply with several Supreme Court rulings deeming it unconstitutional to impose JLWOP sentences, the Connecticut Sentencing Commission and General Assembly passed Public Act 15-84 (PA15-84) in 2015, which established parole hearing pathways for individuals who committed offenses under age 18. However, virtually no research exists on the impact of beneficiaries of PA15-84.

Methods: The current study highlights findings from a primarily qualitative, participatory research project. We conducted one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with 11 beneficiaries of PA15-84. Snowball sampling was primarily utilized for recruitment, relying on participants’ personal connections to other beneficiaries of P.A. 15-84, and the support of public defenders. Interviews were in person or virtual and lasted ~90 – 180 minutes. Participants were aged 31 – 52; had been incarcerated 9 – 30 years; 73% Black, and 27% were Latinx. Thematic coding of interviews was implemented in Dedoose (Bruan & Clarke, 2006). A codebook was developed using deductive and inductive approaches drawn from the project’s research questions and conceptual frameworks.

Results: Preliminary analyses suggest that participants faced unique and specific developmental challenges, particularly regarding the need to adapt to a violent prison culture while simultaneously trying to understand their own emotions and personal development with little to no institutional support. All participants experienced de facto bans to programs and services due to their long prison sentences, often resulting in going numerous years without access to stimulating/productive courses and programs. Struggles after incarceration connect to a lack of institutional preparation and support. Despite this, participants described life outside as preferable to incarceration and offered numerous examples of personal success.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings, co-generated with a researcher with lived experience, give policymakers detailed insights into the experiences of beneficiaries of PA15-84 for the first time since 2015. Our co-generated policy recommendations prioritize an expansion of programs and services at correctional facilities among younger people and those with longer sentences, ensuring that they focus on personal and educational growth to reduce recidivism and costs of re-incarceration (Davis et al., 2013). Additional recommendations include increasing the age of parole eligibility to 26, which would reduce costs of incarceration through decarceration and allow for an expansion of programs and services at correctional facilities utilizing these financial savings. Our findings also have the potential to inform what states across the country need to focus on with respect to better serving the re-entry needs of people released under similar mechanisms.