Erin Fitzgerald. assistant professor of law, was recently quoted in an article about the juvenile justice system in North Carolina.
Assistant Professor of Law Erin Fitzgerald was recently quoted by Carolina Public Press in a story about parole for juvenile offenders.
The article, “Sent to NC prison as teens, a ‘broken’ system has kept them there as adults,” highlights a lawsuit filed by Brett Abrams who was sent to prison in 1983 at age 15 for the murder of his neighbor. He has been denied parole every time he’s been eligible since 1993. According to Carolina Public Press, a decade ago, a federal judge ordered North Carolina to adopt a plan to give juvenile offenders serving life sentences a “meaningful opportunity” for parole. The lawsuit asks a judge to find this process, known as the “Hayden Plan,” unconstitutional.
Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the 2010s resulted in changes for those serving life sentences for crimes they committed as juveniles. Carolina Public Press notes that the logic behind those rulings is that juvenile offenders are “more likely to respond to rehabilitation and reform.”
“Research in the area of brain development shows that the brain is not fully developed until about age 25,” said Fitzgerald, whose research focuses on juvenile justice reform. “This lack of development makes juveniles more impulsive, susceptible to peer pressure and unable to fully appreciate the consequences of their actions. However, it also makes them more malleable and capable of rehabilitation.”