I was a juvenile lifer. Here’s how to help Philly kids avoid the same fate.

I was born in North Philadelphia to a 17-year-old mother who struggled with addiction and an 18-year-old father who would later abandon me and my younger brother. My childhood was marked by instability, both at home and in my neighborhood, where the police presence felt like an occupying force.

By the time I was a teenager, I had experienced homelessness, hunger, and mental and physical abuse. I existed solely in heightened survival mode. One night, an adult friend and I attempted a robbery, which tragically left a man dead. I was tried, convicted, and given the death penalty — all before I turned 18. I feel remorse every day for the pain I caused.

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Eventually, my sentence was overturned, and I was given life without parole. After serving 27 years, a wave of reforms about harsh sentences for people convicted as juveniles made it possible for me to seek a reduced sentence, and I was able to demonstrate that I was prepared to come home. Four years ago, I left prison as a free man.

Now, I often think to myself: What would I have needed to take a different path in life? Given the difficulty of my personal circumstances, what could have convinced me that committing harm wasn’t my only option?

Today, finally, I have some answers.

What I needed were other options. Of course, not all kids who grew up in similar circumstances end up committing harm, but the crime surge we’re seeing now is a window into what happens when options are scarce. Kids need support, and if they get that from responsible adults — if they are cared for, engaged, listened to, and busy — they do not turn to social media, gangs, and peer pressure.

When kids do commit harm, accountability is necessary and important. But society hasn’t done this well in the past, and we need to learn from our mistakes. In the 1990s, the fear-driven “superpredator” myth sent thousands of children of color to adult prison for extreme terms. We can enforce accountability among kids in age-appropriate and humane ways by prioritizing community-building and prevention of crime rather than punishment.

Today, my full-time job is at a youth sentencing reform organization, but crime prevention is my focus on the side. A child recently told me he wanted to be “rich” so that he could eat every single night. To me, prevention can mean handing out free, fresh produce on nights and weekends through partnerships with Philabundance and other private companies, because a lack of access to healthy food is a hallmark of poverty, and poverty begets crime. Other times it means working with my organization GROWN doing violence intervention and mentoring work.

“A child recently told me he wanted to be ‘rich’ so that he could eat every single night.”

I want to help kids before they have a record — before they commit the crime that hurts others and effectively ends their lives.

Another important prevention effort is Philadelphia’s long-running Youth Aid Panel, which offers kids accused of certain low-level crimes the chance to work alongside their family members and community members to create a plan to repair the harm they’ve caused. If they complete the accountability plan, their records are expunged. The program works: Between 2018 and 2019, 459 out of 593 young people involved in the program completed their obligations to victims and their community. That’s an 83% success rate.

So to Philadelphians, I say: What options can you offer young people to guide them in positive and productive directions, so that they don’t make the same choices I did? Let’s find ways to give them opportunities for civic engagement and extracurricular activities — including sports, music, entrepreneurial classes, and apprenticeship programs — that can be outlets for energy while helping to develop discipline and teamwork.

Most importantly, young people need to be listened to, and they need to be loved. It is incumbent upon us, the adults in their city, to make sure they have the resources and support they need. If we prioritize and invest in their well-being, we can create happier, healthier, and safer communities.

Donnell Drinks is the leadership development and engagement coordinator at the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.