Understanding the Supervised Release Board Process for Adults Given Extreme Sentences as Youth

In this CLE, Jose Burgos and Jess Niewohner will discuss their work expanding supervised release opportunities for individuals sentenced to extreme terms as children in Minnesota. Beginning in July of 2024, the newly established Supervised Release Board (SRB) — under Minn. Stat. 244.05, subd. 5 — began to review people eligible for supervised release for their readiness to come home, including those incarcerated since childhood. Jess and Jose will provide an overview of the first year and a half of this new process, describe ongoing efforts to ensure that those facing review receive meaningful preparation and support, and highlight ways attorneys can engage in and strengthen this critical reform work.