Lessons Learned

Something that particularly stuck out to me when looking through the Juvenile in Justice book was the story of a 20-year-old girl who has been in the same cell since she was 14. She recognizes why the victim’s family speaks against her and even admits, “If it was my family I would do the same, but I am a different person at 20 than the drugged child I was at 13.” That really made me think about second chances, and how we each deserve one. It sounds like this girl has really grown up and changed within the past 6 years. It is incredibly sad to think that many of these people’s lives are now defined by a single bad decision they made when they were young.

I think it is also important to realize how badly the incarcerated need help. The book almost makes it sound as if some are locked up without receiving any kind of therapy. If that is the case, how can we expect to see any improvement? Unfortunately, the majority of the kids come from broken families and rough situations. What they really need is to be taught life skills and shown love.