Three months after my eighteenth birthday, I was arrested for a gang-related murder. After reviewing my extensive juvenile record, the judge looked at me and said, “It’s obvious society has failed you, young man, and I won’t repeat the same mistake.” He sentenced me to Life Without The Possibility Of Parole (LWOP). Legally I wasn’t mature enough to buy alcohol or cigarettes, but his ruling made it clear I wasn’t redeemable as a human being.