Youth Prison Fuzzy

To: Prison Alternatives Action Plan Committee - April 19, 2020

From: Ellen Franklin, Coordinator, Virginia Department of Corrections

As you deliberate on the creation of an alternative for the Virginia Youth Incarceration Center, I thought you might be interested in reading this essay written by Roger Phillips, one of the center's inmates. It gives you some insight into the challenges we will face when we close down the present facility in 2025. Consider the characteristics and problems of this youthful offender. How will your committee provide punishment, rehabilitation, and security for society when judges are no longer able to sentence juveniles, such as Roger, to correctional centers?

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Okay, so I got to write a 1000 word essay cause I jumped this rookie inmate. Like I wasn't punched around when I came in. That's just the way things is. I was only 14 when they put me hear. Now I'm 17 and nobody slams me. I slam first.

This place is like the worst pit you can think of. They put you in big dormitory rooms and watch you 24 hours a day on video. They make you go to classes and give you medicine to help you stop being so psycho. But nothing really works. The place is really run by jail gangs and the weak kids still get beat up. I mean what do you do with a juvenile offender, which is just another name for a kid who killed somebody or steals cars or breaks into peoples houses. That's what happened to me. I broke into a house and this old man woke up and caught me. I had to hurt him because he wouldn't let me go. So its mostly his own fault.

Nothings fair hear either. Last week they caught three guys taking dust and crank. But they don't have to write no essay. They just get "consequence training" where they watch interactive movies with bad stuff happening to drug dealers and drug takers. They just wasting time. Drugs got most people hear and they ain't likely to change because of a prison show. Let's face it. If we was nice, we wouldn't be hear. Most of the guys hear would knife you for a dollar. Real mean.

There stupid too. Half can't even read the comic books they use to teach us reading. I only read e-books about killing and drugging. They let us read them because all the bad guys end up getting killed or paralyzed or something. Like I care what happens to some dude in a book. I just read the intense stuff.

Some of us ain't too stupid — in fact Marky is pretty smart. He can do math in his head and he's got a good vocabulary — but he don't use it much cause it makes the rest of us look like morons. Truth is Marky's gotten stupider too. And meaner. He says when he gets out he's gonna get even with the people who testified against him at his trial. Like he's innocent or something. When I get out me and some other guys are going to get an apartment and make up for lost time. I know it ain't gonna be easy because what am I supposed to do with my lousy life? I'm damaged goods - a convicted felon - a bad seed. I scare everybody now and nobody cares what happens to me so long as I don't breath there air. I was sorry about what I did to that old man when I first come hear but now I don't care about nothing but myself. Thats the only good thing about the center. It teaches you whats important.

I know this ain't 1000 words but I ain't writing no more.