Juvenile Incarceration: How Young is Too Young?

Our group is composed of four dedicated 8th graders, determined to correct the juvenile justice system to focus more on rehabilitation than on punishment. And to end human rights violations, like solitary confinement, in juvenile detention centers for good.

Interview with Steve Liss, juvenile incarceration photographer

by 19wilderc

On our latest fieldwork our group was able to meet the esteemed photographer, Steve Liss, an expert on juvenile justice. Steve Liss spent over 2 years in a juvenile detention center Texas, photographing and learning from the inmates. He was first inspired to take on this line of work after visiting a juvenile incarceration center while…

by 19wilderc

For our fourth fieldwork we had an interview with Cheryl Roberts, the head of the Greenburger center, a recently founded organization that is working on an alternative to prison for people with mental illnesses. The Greenburger center was founded last year by Francis Greenburger, but lead by Cheryl Roberts. As said before the Greenburger center’s…

by 19finnp

Cheryl Roberts, who is the head of the of the Greenburger Foundation, told us about what the foundation is trying to stop. The Foundation exists to try to prevent people with mental health problems from going to jail. The Foundation will create in the future, a mental health program that provides group therapy, and individual…

by 19wilderc

For our third fieldwork we had an interview with Ishmael Nazarro of the Fortune Society, and a formerly incarcerated juvenile. When Ishmael was 16 he was arrested for robbery and sent to Rikers Island. Shortly after being released from prison he was arrested for another robbery that he had not committed. Despite being innocent he…

by 19beckettm

You’re 16. You’re alone. You’re afraid. You’re confined to a cold, wet six-by-eight cell with low lights. This is what former juvenile offender Ismael Nazario experienced during his stay at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility. For a petty theft, he received a lengthy sentence at Rikers. In addition to that, he was brought back…

by 19finnp

Steve Liss taught us that 200,000 youths are sentenced each year as adults in the United States. Those youths that are incarcerated cost the U.S. 6 billion dollars each year. Steve Liss goes to different prisons and takes pictures of how awful the prisons are to try to spread awareness to everyone. Steve Liss has…

by 19finnp

Ismael was formerly incarcerated as a youth at Riker’s Island. He talked to us about what it was like to be in prison and why some people would want to join gangs. He told us that it gives people a sense of security, because by themselves they normally get beaten up. Ismael also told how…

by 19finnp

The speakers talked to us about the U.S. having only 5% of the world’s population, yet we have 25% of the worlds incarcerated. The speakers talked about how we as a country need to try to help stop people from reoffending, for around 80% of the people who are released from prison go back. Many…

by 19beckettm

Presentation at the PACThis is our second field work. Last Tuesday was spent in the LREI High School PAC, listening to a panel of incarceration experts discuss incarceration in america. This was our second field work and we learned a lot. The main speaker was Mr. Green burger, an LREI parent and a person who…

by 19wilderc

On tuesday my group had the pleasure of attending a speaker event hosted by our school on mass incarceration. There was a rather distinguished panel at the event; Francis Greenburger, founder of the Greenburger Center and numerous other non-profit organizations. Ann Jacobs, director, Prison Reentry Institute at John Jay College, JoAnne Page, president and CEO, The…

by 19wilderc

Today we got to meet with Saadiq Bey, a member of the Fortune Society, and an LREI parent. Before our interview we had watched a video he linked us to called “The Box” by a colleague of his, Ishmael Nazarro, who was incarcerated as a teenager. The video depicts his time in a place in…

by 19finnp

My group and I interviewed Saadiq Bey. Mr. Bey works for the Fortune Society. He is a really nice guy, and he helped our group a lot. Saadiq offered to get us a tour of the company he works for. Saadiq told us about what the company he worked for was about and why it…

by 19beckettm

On Wednesday our group met with an activist and LREI parent Saadiq Bey. After exchanging a few emails, our group, met with him in the Learning Lab to discuss his social justice work, and how we can help. He told us about juvenile incarceration, the impact it has on families and how it can be…

by Clair

We are a group of three passionate eighth graders devoted to ending wrongful stop and frisk as well as racial profiling. To read our group’s work, click here.