Andrew Hundley
Sentenced to life without parole at 15, Andrew Hundley’s sentence was one of the first of more than 200 people in Louisiana who secured their release under landmark Supreme Court rulings. He now works at the Louisiana Parole Project, helping the formerly incarcerated succeed on the outside.
Related to: Youth Justice, Sentencing Reform
In the summer of 1997, 15-year-old Andrew Hundley killed another teen in Mowata, Louisiana. His case went to trial and he received a life-without-parole (LWOP) sentence. In 2016, at age 35, his sentence was commuted to time served and he was released. Hundley was the first of more than 200 Louisianans serving LWOP for crimes committed while young who have been released since a series of landmark Supreme Court rulings invalidated the LWOP sentences of some 2,000 people.
From the time of his release Hundley has devoted his freedom to helping remaining qualified lifers earn a meaningful opportunity for release. Within a year of his own freedom he founded and now runs the Louisiana Parole Project, a 501(c)(3) organization that serves as a critical bridge between prison and life on the outside. The organization defines itself as a human services provider and advocacy organization, working to reduce recidivism through second chances for released lifers and others who have served 20 years or more. As in other states, those exiting prison from a former life sentence exhibit very low rates of reoffending.
