15 to Life: Kenneth's Story

2014 Canadian-American documentary film March 2025 15 to Life: Kenneth's Story Nadine Pequeneza Nadine Pequeneza Nadine Pequeneza Kenneth Young Alex Khaskin Stefan Randstrom Ricardo Acosta Hitplay Productions Outcast FilmsFarrago Media 83 minutes 2014 04 01 ATLFF CanadaUnited States English 15 to Life: Kenneth's Story is a Canadian-American documentary film, directed by Nadine Pequeneza and released in 2014.Cynthia Fuchs, "WHEN CHILDREN ARE IMPRISONED FOR LIFE: ’15 TO LIFE: KENNETH’S STORY’". PopMatters, August 5, 2014. The film centres on 26-year-old Kenneth Young, a Florida man who has been serving four consecutive sentences of life in prison since 2001, for participating in three armed robberies and one attempted armed robbery, over a 30-day period, as a 14-year-old in the summer of 2000. The 24-year-old he was led by during the robberies received a single life sentence. The minimum guidelines in Florida for these non-lethal crimes was just under four-and-a-half years. In 2010, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Graham v. Florida that it is unconstitutional to sentence children to life imprisonment if they had not committed murder, paraphrased throughout the film as "children are different". The award-winning documentary focused on the injustice of keeping an adult in prison after he had become so definitively rehabilitated. Young eventually won his freedom in July 2021.https://law.fsu.edu/sites/g/files/upcbnu1581/files/Academics/Clinical%20Programs/mailing-65ur9d-35f6f731ba072b94f17a82fa3ce71167.pdf Kenneth's re-sentencing journey Young's lawyers go to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court Of Florida, in Tampa, for his required re-sentencing hearing, to advocate for his full release from prison. The effort to have him released failed, though the judge did obey the Graham ruling by replacing the four unlawful consecutive life sentences with four concurrent sentences of 30 years. Young and his lawyers next go to Florida's Second District Court of Appeal, hoping to have the court find that the Circuit Court erred by not releasing him for time servedthen 12 years and counting. Their argument is further supported by the related decision in Miller v. Alabama (2012), in which the US Supreme Court ruled that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juvenile offenders, even in cases of murder, is unconstitutional,Court bars mandatory life without parole for youths, rejects cross case Washington, D.C. June 25, 2012 Catholic News Service http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20120625.htm#head5 October 11, 2022 dead https://archive.today/20130630010000/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20120625.htm June 30, 2013 reinforcing the concept that "children are different". In February 2013, Young's appeal is denied. In 2014, Florida mandated reviews for juvenile offenders serving long prison terms, which resulted in a decision that Young would be released after 21 years in prison, rather than 30. In 2023, Young was arrested in Florida and charged with numerous drug trafficking offenses as well as violating the terms of his parole. teamhcso press release https://teamhcso.com/News/PressRelease/5900395f-c585-491d-bb4f-62b01742480c/24-01 Film's release and reception The film premiered in April 2014 at the Atlanta Film Festival."Complete lineup of the 2014 Atlanta Film Festival" https://web.archive.org/web/20220703014511/https://www.georgiaentertainmentnews.com/2014/03/complete-lineup-of-the-2014-atlanta-film-festival/ July 3, 2022 . Georgia Entertainment News, March 17, 2014. It was broadcast by PBS as an episode of the documentary series POV in August 2014, and was broadcast in Canada by ichannel in 2015.Katie Bailey, "Amazing Race, Songs of Freedom capture Screenies on night one" https://web.archive.org/web/20220805150918/https://playbackonline.ca/2016/03/08/amazing-race-songs-of-freedom-capture-screenies-on-night-one/ August 5, 2022 . Playback, March 8, 2016. The film was a nominee for the Donald Brittain Award at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016, and Pequeneza was nominated for Best Direction in a Documentary Program and Best Writing in a Documentary Program.Brent Furdyk, "2016 Canadian Screen Awards Nominees Announced". Entertainment Tonight Canada, January 19, 2016. Pequeneza won the writing award. References External links 3215812 Category:2014 films Category:2014 documentary films Category:American documentary films Category:Canadian documentary films Category:2014 English-language films Category:English-language Canadian films Category:POV (TV series) films Category:Canadian prison films Category:2014 American films Category:2014 Canadian films Category:Documentary films about incarceration in the United States Category:English-language documentary films