Nathaniel Hall one of the kids in the book True notebooks that were in Mark Salzman’s class stood out to me to me the most because he was showing signs of changing, but he is also manipulative and shows signs of not changing at all, the juvenile system was not effective enough at supporting Nathaniel’s change it failed to bring him up to his high potential, if he had stayed in the juvenile spending more time with Mark at the writing workshop and not transferred to the penitentiary he would have probably turned out to be okay. Nathaniel is so high-spiritedness even though he is obviously struggling with his past life he lived when he was on the streets. It’s like he is hiding something through all his rhymes and high spirit. He kind of confuses me because he sometimes talks about becoming a new person and how the writing has changed him then other times about going back to his gang once he gets out because that’s the only life he can relate to describing it as real. Nathaniel Hall, as brilliant as he may …show more content…
After getting to know the lives and minds of some of the boys in jail, I truly believe that the prison system is the worst way to go on the journey to healing these kids. It may be most physically safe, but it will also produce a society that has not changed before and after going through the system. One of the most astounding discoveries I made, however, was realizing how rarely I thought about incarcerated youth, simply because it never seemed to crop up in my life.Never thought the system would be so tough on them and unforgiving as they were in the book. I believe that the best way to change the system and prevent youth from being tried as adults is to do exactly what Mark has done, provide an insight into the true soul and nature of youth, regardless if incarcerated or not, and fully understand their ability and
..., poorly operated, and in the end fails to properly attain its goals due to an overload of cases. There is a continuation of failures for the juveniles by the system, like George, who has needed proper help, since being a ward of the state since age five. The book showed me a definite need for the juvenile system that I did not know existed. Hopefully the system will be further improved and children can be helped out a lot earlier in their lives. Although there are many cases of how bad the system is, some of the juveniles got their lives together, such as Carla. I thought the most impressive and most beneficial rehabilitation was the pace school for the disabled, the teen mentioned in the program was Andre. Andre underwent a complete transformation because of the program; I think that the program is one that should be further looked into as a good choice of rehab.
...system and in the court. I think that instead of reforming the delinquents they are failing them because they tend to be think that they are being lenient. In actuality they are not teaching the juveniles the difference from right and wrong, but Moreno locking them up and "teaching a lesson." Finally in chapter 18 merely focuses on the stress and amount of pressure Dorn deals with as a judge. The system also attempt to change to put limit on certain things in the system dealing with juveniles. Some of the impact the system has on these kids are negative which causes an increase in crimes. Beckstrand is relocated to start dealing with cases in adult court. Some of the people in this book are still putting up a fight with trying to win their case. There is also other people that are still trying to make the juvenile justice system as a whole a better place, like Dorn.
The legal system is a procedure for interpreting and enforcing the law. It is a set of laws that all communities in civilisation must obey. The penal system is a method where people are punished for violating the legal system. The book "Raw" is about a young sixteen-year-old born trouble maker, Brett Anthony Dalton. He is a recidivist and has no respect for the community and the law. An example of this, is said by the Magistrate, "Make no mistake, Brett,' she warned before the cops dragged him out back into a holding cell, ‘this is your last chance. If you end up in another court ---- it's jail." (Page 4). Consequently, Brett's punishment was a 3-month sentence at a low detention security centre called "The Farm", which was owned and ran by Sam and Mary Fraser. "Like every juvenile detention centre, it aimed to turn troublemakers like himself into model citizens. Brett snorted. As if." (Page 3). Throughout this essay, I will discuss the points regarding Brett Dalton's positive transformation whilst at "The Farm". Therefore, the penal and legal systems have given Brett the opportunity to change his life.
The novel offers insight into a corrupted system that is failing today’s youth. This system places children into state custody with environments that are academically and socially incompetent. These children suffer within a corrupted system that denies resources and attention during the most crucial period in their emotional development. They develop very few meaningful adult relationships, endure damaging environments, and ultimately become trapped in a system that often leads to a prison life.
In the United States, each year, there are numerous juvenile delinquents who are given mandatory life prison sentences. This paper will explain how a troubled boy at the age of 15 winds up being convicted, receiving one of the harshest punishments in the United States, and what actions may prevent future occurrence of this event happening to the lives of other delinquent youth.
For one, unlike Ian he was convicted and found guilty of a non-homicide crime yet still also found himself in a life sentence. For better or for worse, Joe wasn’t confined but “was [instead] repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted,” the trauma from which eventually caused him to develop multiple sclerosis (Stevenson 259). Unfortunately, these two cases are not uncommon in the justice world. As a matter of fact, “by 2010, Florida had sentenced more than a hundred children to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses,” (Stevenson 153). One of the primary reasons for this originated in the idea that harsher punishments will act as a deterrent for kids who want to break the law. However, recently studies have suggested that because the prefrontal lobe of the brain is still in development until the age of twenty, children don’t have the mental capacity to make the best decisions, especially under stress. Additionally, children normally wouldn’t have access to weapons or drugs, which allows the argument that adults should be held responsible for making such objects available to them in the first place
Rather than robbing them of the chance to grow and become better human beings, though, the government has the ultimate responsibility to help transform these troubled youths into upstanding citizens—even if it is within the walls of a prison rather than a classroom or office building. Executing minors does nothing but remind us of America’s stubbornness to do what may take time but in the end is right.
Many people have heard or read about the situations of child celebrities such as Jenna Malone, Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, Michelle Williams and Macauley Culkin or child athletes like Dominique Moceanu, but few have heard of a more compelling situation as that of Aaron Kipnis. This young man was brutally beaten by his stepfather at the age of eleven. Instead of punishing his stepfather, the state of California made the eleven year old a ward of the state. Being a ward, in the states juvenile system, was a horrific experience. For the next five years, Kipnis began a cycle of running away, getting caught, and living in temporary housing. It was not until he was sixteen that a parole officer recommended he pursue legal emancipation. His freedom was finally granted at seventeen (Rupp 1&2).
The juvenile justice system faces a significant challenge in identifying and responding to the psychiatric disorders of detained youth because research has shown that it is difficult to define the best means to use and enhance the scarce mental health resources (Kessler & Kraus, 2007). According to Cocozza and Skowyra (2000) “Children’s and adolescents’ mental health needs have historically been addressed inadequately in policy, practice, and research and have only the number of youth with mental illness and their level of unmet needs recognized” (p 4). Furthermore, that the juvenile justice system has gone from treatment and rehabilitation to retribution and punishment, that the prevalence is higher for youths who are involved with the system have mental health disorders when compared to the general population. In this paper I will be discussing pathways of juvenile detentions, types of mentally ill juvenile offenders, working alliance, treatment/intervention options available, challenges of untreated mental illness, and research findings.
Today, we live in a society faced with many problems, including crime and the fear that it creates. In the modern era, juveniles have become a part of society to be feared, not rehabilitated. The basis of the early juvenile justice system was to rehabilitate and create safe havens for wayward youth. This is not the current philosophy, although the U.S. is one of the few remaining countries to execute juveniles. Presently, our nation is under a presidential administration that strongly advocates the death penalty, including the execution of juveniles. The media and supporters of capital punishment warn of the "superpredator," the juvenile with no fear, remorse, or conscience. Opponents of this view encourage the idea that another death is only revenge, not deterrence. We will examine the rights allotted to juvenile offenders, and the punishments inflicted upon them for violations of the law.
There are millions of adults in federal prison, but The United States is the only country in the world that condemns children to die in prison (Pequeneza, 2014). It’s sad to think about children being sentenced to life in prison, and frankly it is a disturbing and a scary fact to face. However, in recent years the U.S Supreme Court has made it illegal to charge juveniles with life sentencing for anything less than murder (Pequeneza, 2014). This new law gives children a second chance at life when they are finally released from prison. Many children are forced to be in a household that is not suitable for a developing child. Children are mistreated, neglected, abused, and other factors. These unfit situations that children are in make them more likely to become violent, and maybe end up in juvenile
This book touched on the basic of prison and parole a little. I can say, I have learnt a lot from this book. Prison, can be describe as a trap. It promises a lot but only does so little. Yes, there are programs available for the inmates, to help them grow as a person. The system can be unfair at times, but rewarding. For example, each lifer in this book, explained how prison, has changed their lives. Programs they offered, helped shaped each inmate in different ways. It helps with their emotions, financial situations and gave them great life experiences, that they can use out in the real world. Also, the employees in the prison, had great impact on the five men that were released.
Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth, by John Hubner, follows Hubner as he observes the “worst of the worst” juvenile offenders at Giddings State School. This treatment program is truly a “last chance” for may of the adolescents there – their last chance to change the direction of their lives before ending up in jail. Hubner takes the reader through a gripping and emotional journey as the teenagers go through the Capitol Offenders group and delve into their past hurts, childhood years, and reasons that contributed to their involvement in crime. Each member of the group must tell their life story and crime story and relive them by observing both in a drama, as well as participating in their crime drama as the victim. Once they have experienced this, they attempt to identify what caused their behavior, change it, and learn how to prevent future crimes.
A child will not change their behavior if their parent does not show disapproval and does something about their behavior we they act out. With both of these combine, it made Wes’s opportunities starting from a young age, very slim of being successful. Growing up, Wes Moore had his mom and family around him to support him and when things got bad, his mom sent him to military school as a disciplinary action. This saved Wes from further becoming a bad kid because there, he learned discipline and respect. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore was off selling drugs and doing other bad things while his only influence was his brother. The other Wes Moore was so involved in his profits from selling drugs that he even sold to a cop even though he knew that he was undercover (Moore 112). Wes took this chance because he was so desperate for the twenty dollars he was going to receive, he didn 't care what the consequences were. I believe that if the author Wes Moore never went to military school, that he would have turned out just like the other Wes Moore. Weich from Lincoln County Jail stated that when investigating the jail, inmate were forced to garden as their “hardwork” this was supposed to change them. The inmates just had to be on good behavior and they were then able to garden while in jail (Weich). The point of going to jail is to be disciplined and learn and grow as a
Last Chance in Texas, which was written by John Hubner, is definitely a must read for anyone involved in the criminal justice system, parents, students studying criminal justice, and anyone concerned with the future of the Juvenile Justice System in their community and in this country. If you are not familiar with the Juvenile Justice System, it is a System which is constantly being debated about on its purpose and effectiveness and this book gives us hope of a way of positively effecting juvenile’s lives to reduce criminal activity of young people. There are many sides to what people think may be the correct way of treating and punishing, and in his book, Hubner does a great job of explaining his opinion on the matter through his personal experience after visiting this ground breaking facility with a successful system in a small town in Texas that is treating troubled juveniles and finding the source of acting out and committing crimes. To balance effective punishment and rehabilitation and fairness is the main goal of dealing with Juveniles that are in the justice system and Hubner explains in his book how the State School handles this and effectively creates this balance that is so highly sought after. He follows the journey of several troubled youths as they go through the State School and details his observations and feelings about the program and its effectiveness.