“They may have been involved in a serious crime when they were teenagers, but they can change,” said Elizabeth Calvin, a senior advocate with Human Rights Watch. More than half of these youth were first-time offenders, Calvin said, and this bill could allow rehabilitated felons a possibility to start over. “Teenagers are still developing,” Calvin said. “No one, not a judge, not a psychologist, can look at a teenager and predict who that person will be when they’re in their 40s.”
The bill failed by one vote short of passage in the Legislature last year. If it passes this time, it’d have to go to the governor for final signature. Read the Human Rights Watch report: “When I Die, They’ll Send Me Home: An Update”