I grew up in a household of six people which consisted of me, my brothers, one sister, mom and stepfather. I was always in and out of the juvenile facilities and I was the only child of my mothers who did any jail time. Being incarcerated as a juvenile in a juvenile facility wasn’t great. But being bound over as a juvenile in an adult prison is torment. I wouldn’t want any juvenile to ever experience the pain and suffering I experienced. I’m now twenty years old and I faced my bind over charges at seventeen and was convicted and bound over. I’m writing this from a level 4A facility because the level 3 prison they sent me to was unfit for a person who was barely eighteen years of ages. So I was left with no choice but to fend for myself and fight for my belongings at a young age. I see my future being affected because I’m not mentally ill and I feel like people are always out to get over on me, or cause me harm. I’ve also seen a friend who was bound over with me kill himself because he was being raped by an older inmate. I feel the whole juvenile bind over process should be terminated once and for all because sending juveniles to adult facilities with grown men who are mentally and physically stronger is not helping us juveniles. They are only making our lives more of a stress and torment. And it really destroys families and takes the juveniles innocence away.
My experience of solitary confinement is a bad one due to me being in the hole all the time, or should I say when I used to be in the hole. Well it goes like this, when you’re in the hole you are only allowed 1 hour out of your cell to go to recreation and use the shower. Even going to those places you are and cuffed and shackled. It’s the most devastating feeling because you are already in prison and you think it can’t get any worse, but it can because that’s what solitary confinement is. You can possibly be mistreated in the hole by your cell mate or the correctional officers and they will get away with it, but only if you let them.
Upon my release I’m looking to find work wherever they hire convicted felons, hopefully I find work because it’s hard being a convicted felon looking for work and some of us will face coming back to prison if were not on someone pay roll. In a few months, unemployment is considered a violation of some of our paroles. You get some of us who will learn from our incarceration and you got some of us who will not. Those of us who didn’t learn face coming back. I consider myself one who learned and I’m only 4 years in on a 20 year sentence. Hopefully I get my judicial in a few more years.
In Their Own Words 