Tag Archives: wrongful conviction

NEW 2026 FREE EFREN PAREDES JR. FLYER AVAILABLE

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A new flyer is now available to help amplify the call for justice and support the commutation of Efrén Paredes Jr.’s death-in-prison (i.e., life-without-parole) sentence which can be downloaded here: https://bit.ly/aiusa-flyer-427.

You are invited to join the chorus of juvenile justice and human rights advocates across the nation supporting the campaign to free Efrén. Together, we stand in strong opposition to condemning individuals to die in prison for crimes they were charged with as children. By supporting this campaign, you can help champion this critical cause and promote a more equitable and humane criminal legal system.

The new high-resolution 8.5. x 11 inch Free Efrén flyer is free and ready to print or post digitally. You can display the flyer anywhere people gather:

– Social justice rallies, teach-ins, and public forums
– College campuses and student centers
– Faith-based institutions and community centers
– Libraries and bookstores
– Workplaces, break rooms, and union halls
– Homes, front windows, and neighborhood bulletin boards
– Art galleries, theaters, and cultural spaces
– Civic engagement hubs
– Local businesses, coffee shops, and barbershops
– Your social media profiles and digital communities

You can also support Efrén’s efforts to commute his sentence by signing the Amnesty International USA digital action tool to send an email to Governor Gretchen Whitmer urging her to commute his sentence and encourage others to do the same. The link is available here: https://amnesty.quorum.us/campaign/158629/.

Thank you for your continued support.

In Solidarity,

The Injustice Must End (TIME)
Committee to Free Efrén Paredes Jr.
https://fb.com/Free.Efren
https://EfrensWords.home.blog

#FreeEfren #JusticeForAll #CommunitiesRise #SecondChancesMatter #HumanDignity #RedemptionIsReal #EndMassIncarceration #AbolishJLWOP #DeathByIncarceration #JusticeForYouth #HumanRights

SUPPORT MERCY AND JUSTICE: STAND WITH EFREN PAREDES JR.

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Please visit https://amnesty.quorum.us/campaign/158629/ to access and sign a new user-friendly digital action campaign, launched by Amnesty International USA, which allows individuals to send a message to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer urging her to commute the death-in-prison sentence of Efrén Paredes Jr. — a man who has already spent 70% of his life behind bars for a crime he was charged with at just 15 years old.

WHO IS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA?

Amnesty International USA is a global grassroots movement of over 10 million people who believe that every human being deserves to live with dignity and safety. Their mission is to stand up for justice and equality by holding governments and institutions accountable when they violate basic human rights. By working across the globe to mobilize millions of activists to write letters, protest, and support policy changes, they strive to create a world where freedom and fairness are a reality for everyone.

A LIFE TRANSFORMED

Today, Efrén is 53 years old. He is a Western Michigan University student in his junior year pursuing a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies. He is also a journalist and social justice changemaker who works to support racial justice, conflict resolution, and empower members of marginalized communities. His extensive list of transformative accomplishments can be viewed here: https://EfrensWords.home.blog/Efrens-Accomplishments.

THE LEGAL AND MORAL ARGUMENT

The law is clear: children are different. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama (2012) and Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) that life-without-parole sentences for minors should be exceedingly rare. These sentences are reserved only for those who are permanently incorrigible, i.e., forever incapable of change and rehabilitation.

Efrén’s dedication to social justice, meaning-making, and personal growth during his nearly four decades long incarceration demonstrate clear evidence of change and rehabilitation. To keep him in prison until he dies ignores basic decency and defies the spirit of our nation’s highest court. Consider these facts:

– A National Shift: There is a powerful growing movement toward proportional accountability for children. During the past 12 years the number of states banning life-without-parole sentences for minors under age 18 has increased by over 800%.

– Equal Protection: Since 2016, 96% of the individuals in Michigan who originally received the extreme sentence as minors have been resentenced to a term of years, and there has been an 85% decrease in this population nationwide.

– Racial Disproportionality: Children of color make up approximately 34% of Michigan’s children, but comprise 82% of people initially sentenced to die in prison over the last 10 years. This makes the extreme sentence a clearly unconstitutional racialized punishment policy when applied to children.

– The Outlier: In 2012, Michigan had 362 individuals serving death-in-prison sentences for crimes committed before age 18. Among them were two 14-year-olds and fifty 15-year-olds. Efrén is the last remaining person in this age group in the state whose sentence has not been vacated and no longer has available remedies to appeal his sentence.

YOUR VOICE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Governor Whitmer has the extraordinary executive power to grant Efrén a term-of-years sentence proportional to the sentences received by other similarly situated individuals. This would allow the Michigan Parole Board to provide him a meaningful opportunity for release consideration in the future. According to a 2020 report titled, “How Governors Can Use Categorical Clemency As a Corrective Tool” by the Urban Institute, 80% of voters polled support using executive clemency to achieve reductions in prison populations.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Join the chorus of human rights advocates across the nation who stand united in the belief that children’s lives are not disposable and our legal system should be rooted in humanity, not just punishment. You can do this by:

1. Visiting the Action Link: https://amnesty.quorum.us/campaign/158629/

2. Completing the Form: Fill out the short user-friendly form and click the gray “Sign Up” button to send a prepared email and/or Facebook message to Governor Whitmer.

3. Sharing This Message: Post this message in your social media network and share it with your email contacts.

By taking a stand for Efrén, you are joining a legacy of advocates who believe that no person — especially a child — is beyond the reach of redemption. Race, politics, or geography should never determine whether a 15-year-old boy is condemned to die in prison. Thank you for believing in the power of second chances and the dignity of every human being.

#FreeEfren #AbolishJLWOP #Death-By-Incarceration #JusticeForYouth #HumanRights #MercyInMichigan #RedemptionIsPossible #SecondChancesMatter #EndMassIncarceration #AmnestyInternationalUSA

Documentary Film About Efren Paredes, Jr. Coming to Lansing, MI

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You are cordially invited to the reception for the film installation “Half Truths and Full Lies.”

“Half Truths and Full Lies” is a multi-channel documentary film installation that depicts the case of Efren Paredes, Jr., who was arrested at age 15 and sentenced to life without parole in 1989 for a murder he asserts he did not commit. He has spent two-thirds of his entire life behind bars and will soon be 46-years-old.

The reception is Friday, March 15, 2019, from 5 – 8 p.m.

Location:
Casa de Rosado
204 W. Mt. Hope
Lansing, Michigan

Filmmaker Tirtza Even and members of Efren’s family will be in attendance at the reception. Efren will also be calling in to the event from prison throughout the evening. He will be available to answer questions and participate in media interviews.

The reception is being held on the 30th anniversary of Efren’s original arrest date. A selection of his essays, poetry; and an in-depth, revealing, exclusive new interview with him about his personal life and decades of experiences during his incarceration will also be available at the gallery.

You are encouraged to use our Facebook event page to invite friends in your network to view the film installation, to share the event on your social media platforms, and ask others to do the same. The Facebook event page can be accessed at: http://www.bit.ly/HTFL315. You can visit the event page for any updates between now and the opening reception.
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“Half Truths and Full Lies” is a collaboration film project between nonfiction filmmakers Tirtza Even, Meg McLagan, and multimedia producer Elyse Blennerhassett.

The exhibit will be on display from March 15 – April 12, 2019. It is free and open to the public.

The film depicts, through documentation and reenactment, the case of Efren Paredes, Jr., a Latinx man from Michigan, who was arrested at age 15 and sentenced to life without parole for a homicide he asserts he did not commit.

The multi-channel installation takes on a Rashomon-like quality, as divergent accounts of the crime accrue, forming multiple portraits of Efren. These accounts reflect perspectives of a range of individuals, from a police detective to key witnesses from the tight-knit small town community who singled Efren out, as well as of those whose lives — over the past 30 years — were most affected by the teen’s conviction: family members, teachers, and citizens who sat in judgment as jury members.

“Half Truths and Full Lies” tells a story about a story; one constructed by a group of teens who appear to have conspired to set up their peer, and whose narrative played on stereotypical assumptions about racial minorities. This account became the only one the public and the jury got to hear, and the one upon which the local police and prosecutor relied.

The installation, however, is also a story about a handful of alternative, untold stories, and at their center — Efren’s story of innocence. The project attempts to recuperate conflicting narrative possibilities, and to investigate the nature of truth-telling in both media and the law.

The goal of the film is to create a new form of storytelling that unfolds nonlinearly and in space: to surround the viewers with incompatible slivers of the narrative, and have them piece the story together themselves. Even when added up, however, the various angles of the story form a broken and inconsistent whole. The goal is to generate reasonable doubt about the narrative version used by the prosecutor, and to thus undermine its certainty.

Cinematography and editing assistance: Yoni Goldstein
Additional camera: Steve Maing and Gonzalo Escobar
Sound mixing: Julian Flavin