I'm a passionate paralegal who has independently devoted the last 16 years to saving a 15 year-old, 8th grade child's life who was sentenced to mandatory life without parole. He has now spent more than half his life in prison. I found him abandoned and buried deep within the violent Mississippi prison system with no family support, no counsel and completely unaware of any appeals available to him. I took him under my wing and together we learned about post conviction. Through years of appeals we walked the miles hoping his living death sentence wasn't set in stone. Our perseverance and hard work paid off when the U.S. Supreme Court abolished mandatory life without parole for juveniles in Miller v. Alabama. He was perfectly situated to have his sentence vacated. His case decided retroactivity in Mississippi affecting a sizeable population of juveniles in that state. Jones v. State 122 So.3d 698 (2013)After being resentenced again to LWOP in April, 2015, and losing all Mississippi appeals, we were granted Certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court for the 2020 Term. The oral arguments are scheduled for November 3rd (Yes, Election Day). We have a great team of lawyers from the MacArthur Justice Center. Wish us luck!