Last Chance in Texas Book Report
Juvenile Justice
Last Chance in Texas Book Report
The juvenile correctional facility has been a very touchy and difficult topic to discuss. This is due to the differing thoughts and ideas of punishing juveniles who have committed crimes. Some believe that the juveniles need to be punished or else they will never their lesson. While on the other side of the argument the juveniles should be rehabilitated and given a second chance. The second chance will help the juvenile offenders to learn from their mistakes and then teach them to reintegrate back into society. This report will focus on four main themes throughout the book “Last Chance in Texas,” to support the side that juvenile offenders should be rehabilitated and learn how to integrate back into society. This paper will discuss four main themes: (1) the importance of having parents in a child’s life, (2) the effect of drugs and alcohol, (3) the effects of violence and abuse in early childhood, and (4) the importance of group treatment.
The Parents
The parental role played a big factor in each of the youth offender’s life. Many of the offenders did not have parents to show them right from wrong. The offenders who did have a parental figure did not have the parents they wanted. They might have had their grandparents in their life, but they rejected that love and sought out the love of their parents. For example, Johnnie was three years old when he mother left him and he was adopted by his grandparents. Often times the offenders would say, “Sure they loved me, but I must not be worth anything because my real parents did not want me.” (pg. 18-19) With this mindset Johnnie would not let accept the love and care of his grandparents because his mother did not give that to him first. In turn this led to Johnnie lashing out at his grandmother and stealing his grandfather’s car, which was used to do a drive-by shooting. Like Johnnie, Ronnie also missed his mother in his life....