That's downright scary. I see the system and how it works from the juvenile detention breaking them in. They literally give the kids no counseling and support, turn them back out onto the streets on probation with rules that are a complete change from their behaviors before they got arrested. They often fail and end up in and out of juvie. But, they make juvie fun, get to go to school, hang out with other kids, movies on Saturday night, rec during the day outdoors. Jail is SO not like that, and they will get a rude awakening once they have them comfortable with the cycle of going in and out of juvie. When they turn 18, they will find the system much less kind, less forgiving, and less supportive than it already barely is. And, they do not give the families any information about what to do when your child is arrested, what will happen, how to find a lawyer, any of that. They will just tell them to be in court on this day and that and make all of the decisions. They will provide a public defender (my friend calls it the public pretender) who basically is there to speak on behalf of the prosecuting DA's office, they work for the DA. They are there to ensure that the DA gets their bite and their money's worth out of the situation, every time. Then they send the parents bills for all of it and it is just a business. If your child has any type of developmental or mental disabilities, they will treat them pretty much the same as anyone else, which can end up bad.

I write to prisoners as a ministry that God put on my heart. They tell me a lot, and I have also visited prisoners in the big prisons several times. It is not a place anyone ever wants to be. It is inhumane and does nothing to turn them into better people, but rather, they come out with a twisted sense of reality and very unable to deal with normal people or society. Prison life turns even the tiniest things into something huge for them, because they have so very little. Even the smallest slight can get you stabbed or badly beaten, and the racism is very much a necessity of survival. You don't even dare befriend someone of the opposite race or take their side in any way, or you are considered a traitor. If a big fight breaks out, and you choose not to fight with your "race" against the others, then you will pay for it later from your side, big time. If you have any good thing in you, you better hide it well or get rid of it in there, or you may not make it. Imagine coming out on the streets with that kind of animalistic programming. Not to mention the ones who get raped or pawned out for use by whomever. And it still amazes me how they can get their drugs, amazing, and phones, etc. There's always someone willing to earn that black market $ in there.