In Pennsylvania, we can do better than caging kids

In Pennsylvania, we can do better than caging kids

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of suicidal thoughts and behavior. Many people recall their adolescence with fondness. I try to forget mine. In 2015, weeks after I turned 14, a judge sentenced me to 35 years to life in an adult prison. While my peers were learning how to drive and going to prom, I was learning how to survive in a maximum security facility. Most of the time, I was confined to a cell by myself, struggling with th…