The world had changed since Michael Lewis was incarcerated in 1997. As he stood in a hotel lobby following his release from Macon Transitional Facility last month his eyes darted across the room. The flat-screen TVs. The ability to pay a bill with the tap of a phone.
“All of it is new to me,” the 40-year-old said. “It’s a surreal experience.”
Lewis, who is known as Little B, was released from prison on Sept. 27 after serving 26 years for a murder in Atlanta. Indicted at 13, he was one of the first and youngest kids in the state to be tried as an adult under SB440, a newly passed law meant to throw the book at juveniles who commit violent crimes. It was assumed by many that he would never come home.
But then he did.
His release brings to the spotlight a moment of Georgia’s — and the nation’s — criminal justice history that has since been called out for its punitive approach towards young people because it failed to take into account the brain science that sets kids and adults apart.
It also, however, serves as a reminder of how little the state has evolved since this epoch.
Lewis didn’t come home because of legislative changes. Rather his release was driven by the love of one individual — activist Elaine Brown — who refused to let him be forgotten.
“I was so used to people coming in and out of my life, even when I was 11 and 12 years old, but she made me a promise,” said Lewis. “She said, ‘I’m going to be here. I’m going to see you out.’ And she did that.”
It’s a dynamic that is special but also limited in its scope and rare. A point that juvenile advocates say is critical to make.
“Little B’s story is back in the news, because of this change in his circumstances,” said Melissa Carter, the executive director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University. “It doesn’t reflect…
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