The United States sentences more of its citizens under the age of 18 to life without parole than any other major developed nation, and American believers are increasingly viewing juvenile justice — or a lack of justice — as a critical challenge for faith groups. This edition of ReligionLink focuses on this controversial topic.

The numbers offer a stark portrait. There were more than 92,000 juveniles in detention in 2006, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and a 2007 report (PDF file) by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency found that these juveniles are more likely to be nonwhite and from low-income backgrounds, with African-American youths 4.5 times more likely to be detained than white youths for the same offenses.

Moreover, human rights groups say there are more than 2,500 inmates serving sentences of life without parole for crimes committed when they were juveniles, with some states charging minors as young as 10 as adults for serious crimes. That is far more than the numbers in the rest of the world combined, they say.

In May 2010, a divided Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who commit crimes in which no one is killed may not be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The decision, under the Eighth Amendment’s ban against cruel and unusual punishment, voided provisions for such life sentences in 37 states and the District of Columbia.

Only 129 juveniles were found to be incarcerated under those particular circumstances, but Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that the practice “has been rejected the world over” and “the United States is the only Nation that imposes” the penalty.

The faith community — which, according to critics, has too long ignored this issue — has begun to reframe juvenile justice as a social justice matter. Some have started ministries to at-risk and incarcerated youths, while others are establishing programs based on “restorative justice,” the idea that brings together victims, perpetrators, the community and people of faith to “repair the harm” caused by young offenders. Many are working to support laws that would reform the way juveniles are treated by the courts.

Why it matters

Core teachings of traditional religions focus on mercy, justice and serving the least among us, and the fate of juveniles in trouble with the law is so problematic that a growing number of American denominations say the plight of these children cannot be ignored by people of faith. Juvenile detention centers in many states are also some of the most problem-plagued institutions in the corrections system.

Denominational programs

• Catholic Charities USA says it serves about 135,000 youths per year in juvenile justice programs in more than 60 locations nationwide.
• The United Methodist Church has a report on its stance and programs on restorative justice, which includes minors.
• The policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on restorative justice was summarized by the Presbyterian Leader newsletter in 2009.

Other programs and organizations

• The African-American Juvenile Justice Project assists African-American children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. It aims to hold “both the system and the African-American community accountable for the lives of our children.” Attorney Sherri Jefferson founded the project. Contact info@aajjp.org or email through the website.
• Breakaway Outreach is a faith-based nonprofit that works with young offenders in a juvenile detention center ministry. It was co-founded by Jimmy Larche, who says his life was changed by faith when he was a teenager in a juvenile detention center. Contact 423-559-9649, info@breakawayoutreach.com.
• The Campaign for Youth Justice seeks to prevent youths from being tried as adults. Contact media and communications director Eric Solomon, 202-558-3580 ext. 20, esolomon@cfyj.org.
• The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is “dedicated to reducing and abolishing the sentencing of any person below the age of 18 to life without the possibility of parole.” Contact communications official Allison Conyers at 202-612-3214, aconyers@fairsentencingofyouth.org.
• The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform is a project of Georgetown University that seeks to support and reform the current juvenile justice system through a cross-disciplinary approach. Shay Bilchik is founder and director. Contact 202-687-7657.
• The National Center for Juvenile Justice researches topics relating to juvenile justice. Patricia Campie is director. Contact 412-227-6950.
• The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges is an organization of judges who seek to improve the quality of juvenile justice. Mary V. Mentaberry is executive director. Contact 775-784-6012, staff@ncjfcj.org.
• The National Juvenile Defender Center has regional centers around the country and maintains state-by-state data on juvenile justice. Patricia Puritz is executive director. Contact 202-452-0010.
• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a federal department dealing with juvenile offenders and the laws that concern them. It maintains a state-by-state list of juvenile justice specialists. Contact 202-307-5911.
• The Youth For Christ Juvenile Justice Ministries reaches out to youth in detention centers, group homes, correctional center and more to engage them in “relational outreach.” The ministry emphasizes  spiritual, physical, mental and emotional growth.

Resources

• See an interactive map from the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth to see which states sentence juveniles to life in prison without parole, and where those inmates are found.
• Read a May 21, 2010, segment by Religion & Ethics Newsweekly about the Supreme Court decision against life sentences without parole for juveniles. The PBS program broadcast a number of reports leading up to the ruling.
• Read “Life Without Parole for Juveniles: Morally Wrong,” an April 13, 2010, post by Jesuit priest John Coleman at the blog of America magazine.
• “Religion-Based Arguments in Juvenile Life Without Parole Cases” is a Nov. 12, 2009, essay at Sightings by Joan Gottschall, a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Illinois and a member of the Visiting Committee to the University of Chicago Divinity School.
• Read the 2007 report by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency about the differing treatment of juvenile offenders according to race.
• Read a February 2007 story in the National Catholic Reporter (posted by BNET) about racial disparity in the juvenile justice system.
• Read a 2001 Women’s Quarterly article (posted by BNET) examining the history of trying children as adults.

National sources

• Paolo Annino is a clinical professor at Florida State University’s College of Law and runs the Children in Prison Project at FSU. Contact 850-644-9930, pannino@law.fsu.edu.
• Shay Bilchik is founder and director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University. Contact 202-687-7657.
• Laura Farber is chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Youth at Risk, and Charles Ogletree Jr. is chair of its Juvenile Justice Committee. Contact Farber at lfarber@hahnlawyers.com and Ogletree at 617-496-8143.
• Sister Janet Harris is a Roman Catholic nun and a nationally recognized advocate for juvenile justice reform. She is the founder of InsideOUT Writers, a writers program for incarcerated juveniles in Los Angeles detention centers, where she was once a chaplain. Contact via InsideOUT Writers, 323-871-1866.
• Jake Horowitz is a project manager of the Pew Center on the States and a public safety expert. He has a background in counseling juvenile offenders and served as a counselor in an alternative-to-incarceration program for young offenders. Contact via Jennifer Laudano, 202-540-6321, jlaudano@pewtrusts.org.
• The Jewish Community Justice Project of Los Angeles says it is the nation’s only Jewish restorative justice program. It is a joint project of a local juvenile detention facility and two L.A.-based Jewish groups, the Progressive Jewish Alliance and Beit T’Shuvah, a Jewish recovery program. The project teaches young offenders through restitution practices with a Jewish point of view. Contact communications director Cory Fischer, 323-761-8350, cfischer@pjalliance.org.
• Scott Larson is an adjunct professor of Christian ministries at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. In 2009, Gordon became the first Christian college to offer a major in juvenile justice ministries. Larson is the primary instructor for the school’s juvenile justice ministries courses and the co-founder and president of Straight Ahead Ministries, a faith-based organization that works with juvenile offenders in 15 states and four other countries. Contact scott@straightahead.org.
• Peter Leone is a professor of special education at the University of Maryland and the project director of the National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice. Contact 301-405-6489, leonep@umd.edu.
• Michael Rickenbaker is the general chaplain of Christian Prisoner Fellowship in Hazelwood, Mo. The Pentecostal-based ministry has an outreach program to juvenile offenders. Contact 615-425-5173.
• Robert Schwartz is an attorney and co-founder of the Juvenile Law Center. In February 2010, he wrote an opinion piece for CNN.com against trying juveniles as adults. Contact 215-625-0551.
• Michael Shultz is director of the Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. The center has a new juvenile justice “innocence project” modeled on the one that attempts to clear death row inmates. Contact 213-736-8314, michael.shultz@lls.edu.
• Shakeel Syed is a member of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. He participated in February 2010′s Juvenile Justice Week of Faith by visiting incarcerated youths. Contact 714-239-6473.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Abby Anderson is executive director of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, a community-based organization that seeks to reduce the number of youths who go through the juvenile justice system. Contact 203-579-2727, abby@ctjja.org.
• Fred Anderson is a United Church of Christ minister in Massachusetts who serves on the UCC’s Restorative Justice Task Team. In 2008, he preached a sermon on restorative justice, which included a discussion of juveniles. Contact 508-875-5233, fanderson8149@charter.net.

IN THE EAST

• Robert Listenbee is chief of the juvenile unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia and a member of Pennsylvania’s Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice. He is active in the West Oak Lane Church of God. Contact 215-568-3190, rlistenbee@philadefender.org.
• Beth Navon is executive director of the Lineage Project in Brooklyn, N.Y., which works with at-risk and incarcerated juveniles through a variety of programs, including yoga. Among its community partners is the Jewish Board of Children and Family Services. Contact 718-408-1492.
• Laurence Steinberg is a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. His specialties include the adolescent brain and juvenile justice. With Alex Piquero, Steinberg conducted a survey that showed the public is willing to spend more on rehabilitation than on incarceration for juvenile offenders. Contact 215-204-7485, lds@temple.edu.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Joe Benton is a special assistant for faith-base initiatives at the 7th District AME Church of South Carolina. In 2005, the church and the state’s department of juvenile justice signed an agreement to work together to benefit children in the state’s juvenile justice system or at risk of entering it. Contact Benton via the church at 803-935-0500.
• Betty Gernert is a leader of Epiphany Ministry, a Christian ministry to incarcerated youths based in Danville, Ga. Contact 478-962-0794.
• Thomas Gillan is director of the criminal justice office of Catholic Charities of Central Florida in Orlando. The local diocese operates a juvenile justice program through the office. Contact 407-470-1971, tgillan@corlando.org.
• Sharon Simpson Joseph is executive director of the Juvenile Justice Fund of Atlanta. The JJF works with local organizations, including faith groups, to create family visitation centers in and around the city. Contact 404-224-4609, sharon.joseph@fultoncountyga.gov.
• Charles Staples is a born-again Christian and an attorney in Virginia Beach, Va., who deals primarily in juvenile justice and juvenile advocacy cases. Contact 757-497-2485.

IN THE SOUTH

• Terra Everett is the juvenile intervention coordinator for Urban Youth Initiative, a Christian ministry in Memphis, Tenn., that focuses on at-risk youths. One of its programs, Operation Hope, partners juvenile offenders with Christian mentors. Contact 901-729-3988.
• Luceia LeDoux is program director of public safety and governmental oversight grants for the Baptist Community Ministries of New Orleans. She oversees this Christian nonprofit’s community grants that benefit young offenders and at-risk youths in the New Orleans area. Contact 504-593-2355, lledoux@bcm.org.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Lili Garfinkel is with the PACER Center’s Juvenile Justice Program, which works with Minnesota’s juvenile offenders. Contact 952-838-9000.
• William E. Harris is executive director of Restorative Justice Ministry, a program of the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Contact 614-501-8529, bharris@rjminc.org.
• Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, introduced a bill in the Wisconsin Legislature that would raise the age at which youths are treated as adults in criminal cases from 16 to 17. Contact 608-266-5813, rep.kessler@legis.wisconsin.gov.
• Milwaukee Christian Center provides programs for first-time juvenile offenders. Contact 414-645-5350 ext. 108.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Chuck Lawless is founder of LifeChange, a Christian mentoring Bible study program for juvenile and adult offenders. It is based in Midland, Texas. Contact sos@lifechangementoring.org.
• Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest has several programs for at-risk youths and juvenile offenders. It is based in Tucson, Ariz. Contact 520-748-2300.
• Sarup R. Mathur is an associate professor at Arizona State University in Tempe and associate director of the National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice. Contact 480-965-6893, Sarup.Mathur@asu.edu.
• Don Smarto is chairman of the Juvenile Justice Ministries Network of Texas, an organization of Christian groups and individuals who work with juvenile offenders. It holds statewide roundtables on juvenile justice issues and is based in Dallas. Contact info@jjmnt.org.
• Bradley J. Widstrom is an assistant professor of youth and family ministries at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colo. The youth and family ministry department offers a master’s degree in youth and family counseling with a focus on at-risk youths. Contact brad.widstrom@denverseminary.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• California Church IMPACT is the legislative advocacy arm of the California Council of Churches, which supports a state bill that it says would make sentencing for youths
• fairer (SB399). Contact 916-488-7300.
• Dennis Gibbs is director of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles’ Prism ministry, which focuses on “restorative justice” for the incarcerated, including juveniles. Contact 213-482-2040 ext. 256, dgibbs@ladiocese.org.
• Greg Kepferle is CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, Calif. He has testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives about maintaining and increasing funding for juvenile justice programs. Contact 408-468-0100, gkepferle@catholiccharitiesscc.org.
• Verne Rainey is the program manager for juvenile services for the King County Superior Court, which covers Seattle. Among services provided is a mentoring program pairing juvenile offenders with mentors from area churches. Contact 206-205-9490, verne.rainey@kingcounty.gov.
• Javier Stauring is director of Faith Communities for Families and Children, which held a Juvenile Justice Week of Faith in Februrary 2010 with events across California. Contact 213-438-4820, info@fcfcla.org.
• Kimo Uila is director of juvenile justice services for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco. He has a background in faith-based juvenile justice advocacy in that city. Contact 415-621-5661, kimo@cjcj.org.
• Shannon Wight is associate director of the Youth Justice Campaign of Oregon’s Partnership for Safety and Justice. The campaign is working to keep juveniles out of the justice system and to raise the age at which Oregon youths can be tried as adults in criminal matters. Contact 503-335-8449.