Katherine Elise Walker
Host: National Center for Youth Law
Sponsor: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Lia Monahon
- Hosted by Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, Inc.
- Service location Lynn
- Law school Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
- Issue area Children/Youth, Criminal Justice Reform
- Fellowship class year 2007
- Program AmeriCorps Fellows Program, Design-Your-Own Fellowship
The Project
I work for sentencing reform on behalf of Massachusetts youth. Despite their developmental immaturity and relative lack of resources, children in the U.S. are often punished no differently than adults. Children in Massachusetts face uniquely punitive statutes: those 14 and older charged with murders are automatically tried as adults. Conviction means a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole (LWOP). With 2,381 people serving LWOP for crimes committed before they turned 18, the U.S. stands alone in imposing the sentence on youth.
The Inspiration
Meet Other Fellows Like Lia
Alicia Virani
Host: California Conference for Equality and Justice
Sponsor: Bingham McCutchen LLP
Stephen Reba
Host: The Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic of the Emory University School of Law
Sponsor: FordHarrison LLP
Christina Campbell
Host: Center For Educational Excellence In Alternative Settings
Sponsor: Greenberg Traurig, LLP