Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth, John Hubner, Book Review Example

Introduction

John Hubner compiled ‘Last Chance in Texas: the redemption of criminal youth’ (Hubner, 2005).  This is a very powerful account looking at the troubled youth within the State of Texas in the USA. Hubner compiled the book whilst examining the state juvenile court system. The author was intrigued that a State like Texas that is famed for its severe punishments for crime could equally be leading the way in juvenile reformation.  Hubner gained access to the famous Giddings State School, home to the worst juvenile offenders with over 400 juvenile criminals who had been indicted with crimes from assault to that of Murder.

Summary

Severe juvenile delinquency in the USA really started to appear in and after the Great Depression of the 1930’s.  Partly due to the slum conditions and shanty town that were created and a sub culture of crime.  There is doubt that poverty and depravation are major contributing factors to the behaviour of young offenders.  Notable areas in the USA were the backwaters of Chicago and New York where gang cultures were formed.  Poor economic conditions and ethnicity problems have deepened the problem to other Cities in the USA.

The penalties for juvenile crime vary from State to State, with the death penalty being imposed at the severest end.  The Supreme Court generally does not advocate the death penalty for juveniles, nevertheless this remains at the prerogative of the State laws.  At the moment the USA has executed 6 juveniles this decade with Oklahoma and Texas strong advocates of this.  A Republican law maker [John Pitts] in Texas proposed that convicted young offenders, for homicide charges, should be placed on death row from Age 11 until they reach maturity age for Execution. .  This hardening of philosophy brought about where there have been repeat offences by young offenders.  A study carried out in Texas showed that many juveniles who had been placed on death row had been the subject of child abuse and a number of them were mentally retarded.

A lot of the Juveniles are repeat young offenders and have already passed through the Justice system on numerous occasions. Most of the young people are either living on the streets, come from families where they are experiencing child abuse or are into the system where they are being influenced by gangs and drug addiction.  A problem being that the judicial authorities do not have sufficient resources or time to address the youngsters at an early stage before they evolve into more serious offenders.

Most of the offenders come from the lower echelons of society and often this is the poorer Hispanic and black communities.  Most are deprived of a proper education and a large number of them have been psychologically damaged or suffer from some sort of mental illness.  This becomes compounded by a medical system that has insufficient resources, money or infrastructure to deal with a large intake of juvenile mentally ill patients.  Hence this paints a serious and bleak picture moving forward.

Hubner convinced the detention centre to try a rehabilitation program and this included the use of professional social workers, psychologists, teachers and athletic coaches.  His therapeutic measures illustrated that with the right type of rehabilitation program and the point where the offenders admitted their guilt and accepted responsibility for their crimes, they were unlikely to re-offend at a later date.

Critique of book

Hubert manages to share his research and findings over a prolonged period spent at the Giddings Correctional facility.  He adequately describes the kind of juveniles and the array of crimes that they have committed.  The Texas Youth Commission did provide the opportunity for them to rehabilitate and claim back their future. Hubert takes us through the journey via the lens of a number of different perspectives including teachers, parents, therapists, students and coaches. It is this candid view of life and reality that makes the book extremely compelling and powerful to read. (Weinberg, S. 2005)

Overall it is a profoundly moving piece of literature that illustrates the terrible upbringing, conditions of poverty and abuse that lead many of the students to a life of crime.  The concept of child abuse is particularly moving as this is told through the lens of abused students.  There is also a dark side to the story in terms of those students that have been so badly psychologically damaged that future rehabilitation is virtually impossible.  The writer illustrates that even a tough State like Texas still manages to have a juvenile correctional facility.

The book will be of significant interest to researchers and policy makers in the area of juvenile crime. The work of the Giddings School must form a valuable comparative analysis for other juvenile correction institutes across the states.  Hubert pointed out the importance of education and teaching the parents how to recognise delinquent behaviour and instructing them in correctional measures. The concept uses a structured approach using varying family members to instruct youth. This program has had successes in middle class communities in deterring children from drug related behaviour and joining gangs.  Regrettably most of the more serious incidents tend to occur in the urban communities of large Cities and mainly relate to the poor, deprived and lower classes of society.

The concept of deterrent is also important and by contrast programs in Massachusetts like “Scared Straight ” take potential young offenders on tours of state prisons. They  illustrate what life is like inside of Prison and get them to hold frank conversations with the inmates.  The objective being to raise awareness and scare the juveniles enough to present them from pursuing a life of crime.  (Mark, J. 2009)

Counter arguments claim that the approach can be psychologically damaging to the juveniles and causes more harm than good. Results of this review indicate that not only does it fail to deter crime, but it actually leads to more offending behaviour.

Conclusion

A Republican law maker [ John Pitts ] in Texas proposed that convicted young offenders, for homicide charges, should be placed on death row from Age 11 until they reach maturity age for Execution.  A Republican Governor in California stated that Children who commit murder over the age of 14 should be subject to the death penalty.  This hardening of philosophy brought about where there have been repeat offences by young offenders.  A study carried out in Texas showed that many juveniles who had been placed on death row had been the subject of child abuse and a number of them were mentally retarded.

Both Texas and California continue to take a hard line stance on juvenile crime and there is less attention focused upon the social problem and underlying causative factors as opposed to dealing harshly with young juvenile offenders. (Montaldo, C. 2009)

Works Cited

Hubner, J. (2005). Last chance in Texas: the redemption of criminal youth. New York: Random House.

Mark, J. (2009, 11 17). A Crime against juvenile Criminals. Retrieved 10 20, 2012, from http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/646.htm

Montaldo, C. (2009, 11 17). Most juvenile crime victims are other juveniles. Retrieved 11 3, 2011

Weinberg, S. (2005). Last Chance in Texas: The redemption of criminal youth. Houston Chronicle.