By Mary Ellen Johnson We have come a long way in our attitudes toward kids who kill their parents since Jacob Ind and Nathan Ybanez were handed their life without parole sentences. Jacob’s and Nathan’s abuse at the hands of their parents has been well documented, but Colorado was going through a tough-on-crime phase and [...]
Reprinted with the permission of the author. The following appeared originally in Restorative Justice Online By Lisa Rea I would like to draw your attention to a very controversial piece of US federal legislation, HR 2289, which seeks to address the problem of juvenile lifers who are serving life sentences. The expressed purpose of the bill is [...]
By Mary Ellen Johnson The title says it all. A 12-year-old child accused of killing his parents, Charles and Marilyn Long, will not be charged as an adult. According to KDVR Fox News: The prosecution and defense held a joint news conference Friday to announce that a 12-year-old boy accused of murdering his parents will [...]
I embrace the opportunity to share my position in the conversation of criminal justice reform, rehabilitation and the reason for my position. This is an open letter to all who have suffered at the hands of violent, destructive acts whether inside or outside of prison. There is much suffering, deep places of pain, and anger [...]
Representative Pete Lee, an advocate of restorative justice, was asked to give the commencement speech at Territorial Correctional Facility to prisoners who had completed 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Good Morning. I am State Rep Pete Lee from Colorado Springs CO. I am a newly elected State Representative that was sworn in this past [...]
The Pendulum Foundation recently received a comment at our website admonishing us for posting the perspective of a mother whose son is currently serving life without parole. This is not the first time that The Pendulum Foundation has been targeted by NOVJL. In fact, there is an entire web page (where comments are not enabled) [...]
Rev. Bonnie Young’s original post stirred some controversy that spilled over to other blogs. Some of the feedback compelled an administrator to make unauthorized changes to the text of the article. I am correcting those changes and re-posting Rev. Young’s contribution as originally written. Mary Ellen Johnson Guest Post By The Rev. Bonnie Young The [...]