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Shawn Brust has served over 23 years of a 15-years-to-life sentence. After reviewing Mr. Brust’s record and conducting a hearing, the Ohio Parole Board determined by an 8-0 vote that he was suitable for release and should be paroled. But, after receiving statements from the victim’s family, the Board reversed its decisions and denied Mr. Brust parole. The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, alongside the Due Process Institute, Cincinnati Black United Front and Abolitionist Law Center, filed an amicus brief in support of Mr. Brust on appeal to the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Tenth Appellate District.

The MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) filed a lawsuit representing five individuals who were held in custody for several months after their release dates had come and gone. Each client pled guilty to charges in Orleans Parish and were sentenced to the custody of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety (DPS&C); each was entitled to release at that...

Like thousands of other Missourians, Terrell Robinson’s parole was revoked without basic due process. The MacArthur Justice Center is challenging the opaque, discriminatory state parole revocation process that has ensnared Mr. Robinson and others like him.

The MacArthur Justice Center is pursuing a federal class action challenging the Missouri Parole Board’s demonstrated abuse of power, disregard for due process and failure to comply with state and federal law when it comes to youthful offenders previously given mandatory life without parole sentences.

Scott v. Pennsylvania Board of Parole challenges the constitutionality of life without parole (LWOP) sentences for people convicted of felony-murder under Pennsylvania’s constitutional provision barring cruel punishments. Plaintiffs are seven people sentenced to die in prison even though they did not commit a murder—and some did not even know a murder was committed at all. They...

UPDATE: In February 2022, the Tenth Circuit agreed with Mr. Thomas and sent the case back down to proceed in district court. The MacArthur Justice Center is proud to represent Mr. Thomas in partnership with Kirkland & Ellis as we seek to ensure that juvenile offenders like Mr. Thomas have the real possibility of release...

Jerrard Cook was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a crime he committed soon while seventeen years old. We argue in the Supreme Court of the United States that Mr. Cook should be resentenced to life in prison—but with the possibility of parole—because every juvenile, even those convicted of serious crimes, have the potential for rehabilitation and a productive, meaningful life. In fact, a court-appointed forensic psychologist testified that Mr. Cook “did not appear to be one of those . . . rare offenders who couldn’t be rehabilitated.”

Joey Chandler committed murder in 2003, when he was 17. He is currently in prison in Mississippi, serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole. If any juvenile offender can demonstrate rehabilitation, it is Joey Chandler. His disciplinary record over more than a decade of his incarceration has been virtually spotless. He has availed...

This is the second lawsuit the MacArthur Justice Center brought against the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO), the East Carroll Parish Sheriff’s Office (ECPSO), and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections for illegal over-detention. Three individuals, Eddie Copelin, Phillip Dominick III, and Donald Guidry, were detained for months after their release dates had come...

In 2013, the MacArthur Justice Center and the Uptown People’s Law Center filed a class action lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Prisoner Review Board targeting the state’s parole revocation process for adults. A settlement was reached in October 2016 that required Illinois to provide state-funded attorneys and adequate hearings to eligible parolees accused of violating parole. MacArthur, Uptown and an Independent Monitor are currently monitoring the State’s compliance with that agreement.