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Restore Justice Illinois: Chipping Away at Extreme Criminal Sentencing

Date and Time

Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 12:00 PM until 1:15 PM

Location

Second Floor Conference Center
70 West Madison Street
Chicago, IL  60602
USA

Category

Panel Discussion

Registration Info

Registration is required

About this event

Join Hughes Socol Piers Resnick DYM and Rights and Restoration Law Group for a lively and informative panel discussion about legislative strategies to end extreme sentencing in Illinois. The panel will be moderated by attorney Elizabeth Mazur, and it will highlight the experiences and work of panelists Wendell Robinson and James Swansey of Restore Justice. As youth, Wendell and James were each sentenced to mandatory life without parole. After the Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama declared those sentences unconstitutional, both became eligible for resentencing and eventually won their release. Now they are well-seasoned legislative advocates, leading the legal movement toward more humane sentencing laws. You will learn about their most important legislative wins in recent years, the latest developments in Springfield, and why electoral advocacy matters. Panelist attorney Nikki Donnelley will also explain why Illinois court decisions make legislative advocacy so crucial, and how attorneys can put these legislative wins to work for their clients.