I chose to read Juvenile in Justice by Richard Ross. This is a non-fiction picture book that was created in order to expose the flaws within our modern juvenile system.This book actually fits all three of the challenges guidelines. It is a picture book of sorts,which is a format I rarely read for fun, but I have grown to enjoy the striking pictures this book exposes. The fact that it is about the juvenile system, a topic I know little about is another reason I was drawn to read this book. Before reading about the the many harmful effects and the little voice these juvies have, I was naive. I thought that our Juvenile systems was needed in order to create great assistance to the juvenile inmates. I now realize that our system is not even close to perfect, in fact it is rare for developed countries such as ours to use such systems.The stories of the many people living in a completely different world than me was another one of the challenges. This book fit this guideline perfectly. After reading a few of these stories the inmates had told, I realized that many of these kids were from families and communities without resources thrown into tough situations. I now understood that they are not all psychopaths that had committed serious crimes in fact most of them weren’t. After reading this book I felt depressed knowing that many of these kids didn’t necessarily commit any serious crimes and were just apart of poor families trying to make a life.The fact of the matter is that once many of these kids leave the system they go back to their same old ways, either ending up killed or back in the juvenile system. The book also explained how many of these kids are given little voice, unlike adult inmates in prison, which are given the right to a speedy trial. This means that they may have to wait around 5-10 years without even being convicted. I now realize that many of these kids are not necessarily psychopath murders.Knowing this now gives me a different perspective on or juvenile system and gives me insight in order to better advocate for change. As Richard Ross states, “Those confined are youth without voices, from families without resources, in communities without out money.” This quote exposes one of the sad truths about many of our youth confined in the juvenile system. By August
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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November 2022
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