OLYMPIA, WA, USA, December 13, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Over the last decade, the number of minors arrested and detained has decreased, owing to good policy and practice adjustments. However, children in America are still being criminalized at frightening rates, and discrepancies persist. According to the Children's Defense Fund, 1,909 children are arrested in the United States every day. Children are "pushed out of their schools and households into the juvenile justice or adult criminal justice systems," which explains why these figures are so high.

In the case of Taylor Tom Conley, a troubled teen who became a victim of his circumstances and made some unquestionably poor mistakes for which he is now paying with his life. Conley is currently serving a Life Without Parole sentence in a Washington State prison for the murder of Brian Swehla. Taylor, who was only 20 at the time of the incident, was barely an adult and yet was given the harshest sentence without the jury fully understanding the series of events that had led to his damnation.

But in spite of being forced from one harsh reality to another, Taylor knew that his life had a greater purpose than to just be a captive of the bars that took his youth. Whilst prison is no walk in the park, Taylor made the conscious decision to use it as a means to turn his life around. Whilst he lived as a prisoner he had the time to reflect and concentrate on his life choices. He decided that whilst his body could not move out of the high walls and barbed fences, his mind would be set free. And thus, he began to educate and upskill himself in the hope that he would one day be allowed to reintegrate and give back to the community so that he could prevent others from making the same mistakes that he did.

As a child Taylor grew up with untreated ADHD and without any positive influences and as a result was drawn into a life of drugs and alcohol from the age of ten. He merely tried to emulate that of what he saw around him. His mother did not understand Taylor or his issues and forced him into behavior modification programs which caused him so much anguish that PTSD prevented him from continuing his studies in his first attempt to turn his life around. These clinics have a reputation for bordering on torture, and several, included WWASP and Casa by the sea where Taylor was forcing into, have been shut down as a result of their heinous procedures within the troubled teen industry.

Changing His Situation and a Chance at a New Life
While there is no excuse for previous wrongdoings or the ability to alter them, Taylor has taken the required steps to try and make amends for the tragedy that transpired. Taylor now has a chance to prove to the world that he is so much more than just that broken kid that had no positive influences to teach him better, he became better, he became the person that he needed when he was growing up.

The Washington Supreme Court ruling in the matter of: In re PRP of Monschke (Kurtis William) / In re Bartholomew (Dwayne Earl), No. 96772-5 (consd. with 96773-3), has now given Taylor an opportunity to make a bigger difference back in the world as a free man. If Taylor is granted a favorable ruling it will allow him to get his life on track and spend his time giving back to the community with his wife who has supported his rehabilitation throughout the years.

The ruling states that it is unconstitutional to sentence a youth under the age of 21 to a mandatory Life without Parole without taking into consideration the mitigating factors that affected the actions of the youth since “The character of a juvenile is not as well formed as that of an adult” and “Qualities that distinguish juveniles from adults do not disappear when an individual turns 18.”

People are being urged to join the "Free Taylor" movement and readers can help make a difference by signing the Change.org petition that has been created to support Taylor's case and allow him to live the life that he has tried so hard to create. Since his time in prison Taylor and his wife have started their own company, Designed Conviction LLC. He hopes to utilize it to engage with detained and formerly incarcerated people, with the goal of closing the gap between incarceration and society and reducing recidivism. Taylor has also written and released over 13 songs, as well as a self-help book. The Free Taylor website has a detailed overview of his past, present and future to help allow better insight into the mind of a troubled teen that has become an inspiring adult.

Cecilia Conley
Designed Conviction
email us here

To Begin - Taylor Tom (Please Support: Sign & Share the Petition)

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