NORFOLK, Va. - Travion Blount is "officially" free for the first time since he was a teenager.
When he was 15 years old, the Norfolk teen was given six life sentences plus 118 years for a non-deadly armed robbery where he stole $65, two cell phones, and a marijuana joint.
Blount opted to go to trial instead of taking a plea and it's said to be one of the harshest sentences given to a juvenile.
"He's made history - history being the first juvenile sentenced to 118 years [and] six life sentences for a non-homicidal crime," said Blount's advocate and friend, Monique Santiago.
After years in prison, former Governor Bob McDonnell reduced his sentence to 40 years. Then in 2018, former Governor Terry Mcauliffe gave Blount a partial pardon, reducing his sentence further to 14 years, which was the original plea deal.
"You've got to keep pushing," Blount said.
News 3 Anchor Erin Miller was there in 2020 when Blount was released and again in 2021 when he celebrated his one-year anniversary.
On Monday, he completed his probation, gaining most of his rights and freedom back.
"Being off [probation] basically feels like that release all over again. I ain't got to answer to nobody no more and, you know, check in with nobody no more - wondering did I miss my check-in date no more," Blount said.
He said it hasn't always been easy though, especially trying to nail down a job.
"I tried almost every warehouse I can apply for and everyone shot me down on that," he said. "But, you know, it paid off waiting and getting denied. It paid off."
It paid off for Blount, but News 3 wanted to know what, if anything, has changed since his arrest and subsequent pardon.
News 3 turned to Julie McConnell, a Professor of Law and Director of the Children's Defense Clinic at the University of Richmond School of Law.
She said from the 1990s into the early 2000s there was a "damaging" rhetoric around juveniles in the criminal justice system.
"It's what we know now as the superpredator era. Judges were really under a lot of pressure to impose extreme sentences that permanently incapacitated, young people [and] made sure that they would die in prison. There was a belief, at that time, that there was just going to be this cadre of young people that were permanently irredeemable," she said.
She said in the years since the General Assembly has made adjustments to some juvenile justice legislation.
"There was certainly an emphasis in the General Assembly over the last few years on trying to right some of those wrongs, recognizing that we had gone too far in making the system harsh," she said. "I'm sure cases like Travion Blount's [case] had a significant impact on the decision of the legislature to do that."
McConnell points to three big changes in Virginia:
- People who were sentenced harshly as children can now go before the parole board for reconsideration after 20 years
- Judges have the discretion not to impose mandatory minimums when children are being treated as adults. "The reason that is significant is because now they can actually consider that the person was very young, that they couldn't escape their family environment, that they might have suffered extreme abuse, or trauma in their in their home environment, and that they might not have understood the legal proceedings that they were facing as children. So now, we have a way to address that after the fact," McConnell said.
- The structure in which children are tried as adults has also changed. There are more opportunities for judges to exercise discretion and make decisions about whether a child should be tried in juvenile court or as an adult in circuit court.
These are laws, McConnell said, that could have changed the outcome for someone like Blount.
However, he doesn't look back at the past. He's focusing on being a father and keeping his life on track.
"You can't give up. You have to be patient and humble," he said.
Monique added, "Don't count them out. They need us. Do not count them out."
McConnell said before any further legislation makes its way through the General Assembly, there are smaller changes that can be made in Virginia. She said there needs to be an emphasis on mental health and counseling services and positive intervention for kids. If children are given more support at a younger age then they are less likely to make mistakes that put them in the criminal justice system to begin with.
