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Stateside

Coming home after a lifetime away: A former juvenile lifer’s first year free

Michigan Public | By Michelle Jokisch Polo

Published December 20, 2025 at 1:28 PM EST

Joe Cedillo was released Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from the Muskegon Correctional Facility after spending 38 years behind bars for a crime he committed when he was 18 years old.

Joe Cedillo regained his freedom in 2024 following a 2022 Michigan State Supreme Court ruling that declared unconstitutional automatic life sentences automatic life sentences without the possibility of parole for 18-year-olds.

Since being released from prison, Cedillo has graduated with his bachelor's degree in liberal arts through the Hope-Western Prison Education Program, a partnership with Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, that he began while he was incarcerated.

Now Cedillo is looking forward to getting a job working with at-risk youth.

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