The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth released a new report titled “A Decade After Montgomery v Louisiana: Progress, Gaps, and the Promise of Meaningful Review for Children Serving Extreme Sentences,” examining the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2016 decision. In Montgomery v Louisiana, the Court reaffirmed its earlier ruling in Miller v Alabama, which held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children are in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Montgomery clarified that Miller must be applied retroactively, requiring states to ensure individuals already serving juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) receive sentences that comply with the United States Constitution. In recognizing the mitigating qualities of youth and the growing body of adolescent brain science, the Court affirmed that children possess a unique capacity for growth, rehabilitation, and redemption.

The report assesses national progress in limiting extreme sentences for children, documents promising outcomes associated with sentencing review, and identifies the work that remains to fully implement Montgomery. Today, 28 states and the District of Columbia have banned JLWOP entirely, and an additional five states have no one serving the sentence. Since Miller, the population of individuals serving JLWOP in the United States has declined by approximately 85% while the number of states banning JLWOP has increased by more than eightfold. Nationwide, nearly 1,300 individuals who were sentenced to life without parole as children before Miller have come home after successfully demonstrating to judges or parole boards that they had matured, taken responsibility for their actions, and were ready to rejoin their communities. Many are now rebuilding their lives, supporting their families, and contributing to community health and safety. A study conducted by Montclair State University examining 174 individuals who were released after being sentenced to JLWOP found a recidivism rate of just 1.14 percent. These individuals are powerful proof of the core principles of Miller and Montgomery; that children should not be permanently condemned based on their worst acts, and that individuals sentenced as children must have a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate growth, rehabilitation, and readiness to return to their communities.

The report details how, in its decision, the United States Supreme Court recognized Henry Montgomery’s transformation from a “troubled, misguided youth” to a mentor and “model resident” of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, often known as Angola. Yet while his 2016 legal victory helped many who were sentenced to prison as children gain their freedom, Henry remained incarcerated for five more years—enduring deep uncertainty as procedural delays dragged on, even amid widespread support for his parole. Henry finally walked out the gates of Angola in November 2021, 57 years after he was condemned to die there. When asked what he considers his greatest accomplishments to date, he points to the everyday moments that made freedom feel real: rebuilding connections in his community, picking up his birth certificate as a senior citizen, and doing something most people take for granted: navigating a grocery store aisle by himself. He continues to give hope and support to hundreds of others who have come home through his longstanding engagement with the Louisiana Parole Project and as a member of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth’s (CFSY) Incarcerated Children's Advocacy Network (ICAN). When asked about the impact he has had on others, he says, “It has made me feel so good that my journey has given people hope. I love doing it, and I’m still trying to figure out ways to help those in Angola right now. I always try to go back when I can, talk to guys, and help them get their lives back together. Men who have done 20, 30, 40 years, it’s time for them to come home.”

While most of the country has decisively moved on from sentencing children to life without parole, the work is far from finished. Seventeen states still have individuals serving JLWOP, with five states retaining it as an available sentence option despite having no one serving the sentence continuing to fuel deep racial disparities and slowing national progress toward a justice system that treats children fairly and recognizes their potential.

As we look toward the next decade, the path forward is clear: the nation, as a whole, must end all extreme sentencing of children, institutionalize a meaningful opportunity for review in every jurisdiction, and transition toward justice models that prioritize accountability, healing, and safety.

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