#52 Criminal Youth Redeemed

Ronnie and Elena could have been anybody’s children. But they happened to
have absent and abusive parents and grow up in drug- and gang-infested
families and communities. The arcs of their lives, and of so many others
like them, were hauntingly similar—-seeking protection and belonging with
those who appeared most strong, getting caught up in gangs, gradually
abusing and brutalizing as was done to them, and ending up in jail.

They pose a terrible question for society: what to do with damaged young
people who have become a threat to their communities? The easy answer these
days, signaling a deep failure of morality and faith, is to lock them up and
throw away the key. But Ronnie and Elena got a second chance. They ended
up at a Texas youth correction facility that not only believes in
rehabilitation, but succeeds at it. Their story is the heart of John
Hubner’s Last Chance in Texas; the Redemption of Criminal Youth.

This is a powerful book about what can be done to change the trajectory of
violent young lives. The Giddings State School is very tough--with lots of
structure and limits to keep people safe. But each year they select one
group of young men and one of young women who have already been there for
years and demonstrate some promise, to go through a process of deep
reflection together. Each person tells his or her life story, taking at
least six hours and often more, with probing questions from peers and
therapists to get them to look at the pain they have buried under anger and
not-caring. Then the key incidents in those life stories are acted out.
Later each crime story is told and acted out--both from the perspective of
the young person committing it, then from that of the victim. The goal is
self-reflection, empathy--and redemption.

The stakes are high for these young people because the alternative is
decades in the regular adult prison system. There are those who don't
succeed, who can't find the strength to look deeply within themselves and
feel the pain that allows for transformation--and that is the ultimate
tragedy of this book. But most of them do--and that is what offers such
hope. Recidivism is reported as just 10% in three years.

Last Chance moves seamlessly between the life stories of Ronnie, Elena and
others, as told in their group, vivid descriptions of the program they are
engaged in, stories of the people who are working with them at the school,
and a larger overview of juvenile crime and correctional policies. It is a
compelling read, a page-turner that invites us deep into the lives of
troubled youth and the gritty day-to-day work of transformation. Answering
that question about the fate of damaged young people, it offers a working
model that could be replicated all over the country, with enormous savings
in both dollars and human potential. While sobering, its central theme of
love and redemption leaves us with renewed hope for the human condition.

7/06




Quartet

4 old ladies two by two
4 different hats
(sensible on this brisk October morning)
4 bags on laps
hands folded on top
4 stories to tell.

Their faces are attentive, kind--
lively talk and laughter
flow between the pairs.

They have troubles
I’m sure--and flaws
and yet, and yet
this sturdy foursome
shouts out
(in their old sensible way)
all that is right
on this October morning.

10/06