The case for juvenile justice reform

By Abdi Mohamed Contributing Writer

weeping reforms are set to be put in place regarding juvenile justice in Minnesota following Governor Tim Walz’s signing legislation last month that would reform how the system handles juveniles.

Among these reforms is the end of juvenile solitary confinement, restricting the use of strip searches, the creation of the Office of Restorative Practices, and reducing the number of years a juvenile sentenced to life can petition the parole board to review their sentence after 15 years rather than 30 years.

The precedent for these reforms came in 2012, when the Supreme Court ruled that life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for juve- niles was a violation of the 8th Amendment and deemed it cruel and unusual punishment. Since the Supreme Court’s decision, several advocacy groups and communities have worked together over the years to change Minnesota state law to comply with the high court’s ruling.

Doug Keillor is the director of Juvenile Justice Advocates International, a global organization dedicated to protecting the

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Sunrise, December 28, 1941—Sunset, June 6, 2023 rights of children. Keillor stated that the U.S. is far behind the rest of the world when it comes to these kinds of reforms that work to rehabilitate juveniles in the criminal justice system.

“Within the context of the United States being the only country that allows this, Minnesota is one of the very last states—meaning it’s one of the very last jurisdictions in the entire world—that has finally gotten rid of life sentences without the possibility of parole for children,” he said.

Though Keillor’s organization is based in Mexico City and has an office in St. Paul, the juvenile justice reform bill was the first piece of leg-