R. Dwayne Betts Uses Life Lessons To Advocate For Change

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 R. Dwayne Betts Uses Life Lessons To Advocate For Change
Media Contact:           Cyrus Webb, Director of Publicity
                                       Nebo Publishing
                                       pr@nebopublishing.com 601.896.5616

With the decision by the Supreme Court to strike down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for people under 18 years old, individuals like R. Dwayne Betts have been taking advantage of the opportunity to bring attention to the need to rehabilitate offenders, making sure they are productive citizens of society and helping others along the way. Betts, a member of President Obama's Federal Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice knows what it's like to be on the other side of the law. Though many have gotten to know him as a motivational speaker and author of A QUESTION OF FREEDOM along with SHAHID READS HIS OWN PALM, at the age of 16 he was sentenced to eight years in jail for carjacking.


Today Betts is able to use his own transformation in life to showcase what is not only possible for others but what we can do to ensure that those who commit crimes as juveniles get the help they need to emerge as better individuals than when they were sent to prison. Though sympathetic to the victims of juveniles who committed crimes, Betts believes that the judicial system must keep in mind this fact: Juveniles are different from adults. In a recent article published by The Daily Beast, he wrote this: "Their (meaning juveniles)  potential for change, for growth, for understanding, is greater. If our system is not, ultimately, to be based on vengeance, we need to recognize that potential of change, and give it the opportunity to take place (June 26, 2012)."

It is this belief that has led Betts to be an advocate for those who feel as though they have lost their voice or were never heard in the beginning. Though the Supreme Court's ruling was monumental, he knows that citizens have to remain vigilant if they are going to continue to see real change and progress in the Juvenile Justice system.
Among his other accomplishments R. Dwyane Betts is currently serving as the Poetry Editor for Nebo Publishing. For more information about Betts and his upcoming projects visit www.rdwaynebetts.com . 

For bookings or speaking engagement contact Charles Clark  at cclark@nebopublishing.com or 1.716.239.4370, ext. 101.