This interview will be on “St. Louis on the Air” over the noon hour Friday. This story will be updated after the show. You can listen live.
On September 11, Christopher Polk did something he thought would never be possible: He walked out of prison a free man.
Now 43, Polk was just 17 when St. Louis prosecutors accused him of being part of an armed robbery that left one man dead and another wounded. It took four trials (one hung jury and two mistrials), but he was convicted of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, four counts of first degree robbery and two counts of assault. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
But well over a decade later, in 2012, came a sea change to how the criminal justice system treats youthful offenders like Polk. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juveniles to a mandatory life sentence without parole is cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
In its decision, the court relied on expert testimony demonstrating that the brains of children and teenagers are different than those of adults. Their lack of maturity can lead to “recklessness, impulsivity and heedless risk-taking.” And beyond that, the court wrote in Miller v. Alabama, a young person’s character is less fixed; his actions are “less likely to be evidence of irretrievable depravity.”
Provided by the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center
Four years later, in a different case, the Supreme Court ruled that the precedent must be retroactive. It said juveniles sentenced to life without the possibility of parole must receive “some meaningful opportunity to obtain release,” contingent upon demonstrating “maturity and rehabilitation.”
Missouri law changed soon after, mandating parole hearings for Polk and the other 97 young men who’d been sentenced to life before the Miller decision changed the rules. But even then, for Polk, freedom felt like an impossible dream.
The Missouri Parole Board continued to act much like it always had. It held hearings heavily stacked against the chance of release, with incarcerated men making their case not permitted to bring witnesses or even hear the testimony of those who opposed their release. Many men who’d been sentenced as juveniles were denied parole simply on the basis of the horrible crimes they’d committed, court records show — without consideration of whether they’d changed. After 20 hearings, only two men had been granted release.
It took a class-action lawsuit to force the parole board to implement changes that took into account the Miller ruling. U.S. District Court Judge Nanette K. Laughrey issued her ruling in favor of the former juvenile offenders in August of 2019. And one year and one month later, Christopher Polk became the first person to be released on parole after a hearing using the protocols outlined in Laughrey’s order.
When Polk was sent away in 1993, he had just an eighth grade education and no work experience. He’d grown up in the St. Louis’ Hamilton Heights neighborhood, then the center of the city’s crack epidemic. His father was a drug addict; his mother was overwhelmed by health problems. The last day he remembers attending school is a day a classmate was shot in a second-floor hallway.
Christopher Polk has now spent two months as a much older man in a vastly changed St. Louis. And on Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, he’ll join us to discuss the challenges of finding his place on the outside — and what kept him going during his 27 years behind bars.
Egan O'Keefe/Provided by the MacArthur Justice Center
We’ll also hear from Amy Breihan and Megan Crane, attorneys and co-directors of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center in St. Louis. The two won the class-action suit on behalf of the men sentenced to life without parole prior to Miller’s reforms and have continued to represent the individuals in it as they seek freedom. Breihan and Crane will discuss those efforts, as well as Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s appeal, which could undo the changes ordered by Judge Laughrey.
Joining the conversation will be Robert Cramer. His late brother, Dante, died in the robbery that sent Christopher Polk to prison. He’ll explain why he chose to support Polk’s release and why he now considers Polk like a brother.
We’ll also hear from Kevin Bradshaw, who did 34 years in Missouri prisons before being released one week after Christopher Polk. And, we’ll hear from Sidney Roberts, who has spent more than three decades behind bars and is now awaiting release in February. Since the class-action lawsuit against the Missouri Parole Board, six men sentenced as juveniles have been released on parole; another 13 have been granted upcoming release dates.
Do you support a second chance for juvenile offenders found guilty of the most serious crimes? Tweet us (@STLonAir), send an email to talk@stlpublicradio.org or share your thoughts via our St. Louis on the Air Facebook group, and help inform our coverage.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Alex Heuer, Emily Woodbury, Evie Hemphill and Lara Hamdan. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
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