Kuntrell Jackson was born on November 1, 1985 in Blytheville, Arkansas, where he grew up in a public housing community devastated by the prevalence of drugs, guns, and violence. His life was filled with turbulent times, and by the age of 14, Kuntrell found himself involved in a tragic incident surrounding the attempted robbery of a video store. Kuntrell, who initially chose to stay outside of the store, decided to enter just as another boy shot and killed the clerk. His presence at the scene left him tried as an adult and convicted of capital murder, receiving a mandatory life sentence without the chance of parole.

With the involvement of Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), Kuntrell would become one of the plaintiffs in a 2012 case challenging his sentence (Jackson v. Hobbs and Miller v. Alabama). EJI took his case to the Supreme Court and in June 2012, in a divided opinion, the Court issued a historic ruling, holding that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children are unconstitutional. He was eventually re-sentenced, released, and supported through his societal re-entry process through EJI’s Post-Release Education & Preparation (PREP) program.

Today, Kuntrell is an outspoken activist, author, advocate, and highly sought out speaker who travels to universities, churches, school systems, and nonprofit organizations. He is fulfilling his purpose by speaking to audiences regarding young children in America who are deeply affected by abuse, neglect, domestic and community violence, and poverty leading to mass incarceration.  Kuntrell is strategically involved in the fight for prison and sentencing reform and the fight against stringent parole conditions and the lack of support for those re-entering communities, which lead to high recidivism rates.