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Reading Summary 3

Chapter 1 The first chapter of John Hubner’s book Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth begins by talking about some of the boys in the Giddings State School. The aim of this school was to strictly rehabilitate the young offenders and shape them into better human beings. The youth in this school were under 16 hour daily observations. Hubner discusses what Capital Offenders are: developed by Linda Reyes, it was a group of boys who go into the program with a know-it-all demeanor and are in for a rude awakening when they are made aware why they are the way they are. The chapter ends with a mention of a boy named Ronnie, who kidnapped an elderly couple. He was a team leader and progressed a lot from where he was when he started. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 starts with a boy named Johnnie. He was a Capital Offender that had a really bad childhood when his mom abandoned him and he had to be raised by his grandparents. All throughout his life, he was bullied and harassed, called names like “chink”since he was the only Asian in his class, etc. He resented his grandparents for making him go to school. As he grew older, the anger and fury he harbored inside grew stronger. As an adolescent,

Johnnie was violent toward his grandmother and involved himself with gangs. The therapists present in this school worked with boys like Johnnie. By working with the juveniles, the therapists are able to understand what they went through, who they are, and what could have led to what happened to them. Chapter 3 We cycle back to Ronnie in this chapter. Ronnie shared with his therapist that he was beaten as a child by his aunt and so was his brother, and this left him scarred for life emotionally. His mom was never on his side and she left a lot of the time. His grandparents took him in, but this didn’t change the fact that he still had a sad upbringing. This left Ronnie on a path of feeling lost because he never really experienced guidance and proper parenting. Johnnie and Ronnie realize how together they have a lot in common and that they felt safe knowing that someone else out there experienced what the other did. Having another person by your side who can relate to the worst parts of your life is important in times like this, and Hubner makes this known in this section. The chapter ends with Ronnie talking to his group about a specific memory of his mom leaving him but offering him to visit her. It gives us as readers a glimpse of the heartbreaks Ronnie experienced as a child.

Chapter 4 This chapter encompasses how the therapists handle the juveniles in the Giddings school. It starts off with lead therapist Sherry Whatley thinking about the overall schedule of the course since sometimes, the sessions run for longer than the 6 month projected time. But, the duration may be necessary to prolong to fix those who are in need of help. The therapists discuss things like how to manage the juveniles without medication, the types of therapy to use, etc. Regression therapy is what seemed best fit according to them; this therapy technique would focus on the past of these juveniles to try and close doors that interfere with their progress, mental health, and physical health. Chapter 5 The chapter begins with Ronnie at a track with Daniel, having a moment of normalcy like teenagers do. The games that are described in this chapter show how certain youth are successful from the treatments at Giddings. Ronnie achieves success in this chapter. We are shown that juveniles just need to be given the right help and guidance and they can get better. Ronnie was given an all-state status and he went on the path of doing good things and staying away from the bad. His success was amazing because he was a Capital Offender, meaning that he was at one point the “worst of the worst.”

Chapter 6 The tough part of Capital Offenders is telling their crime stories. Ronnie is presented at the beginning as not wanting to do so. However, he is still on the right path and even planned to remove his gang tattoos on his hands. Luther, who was another Capital Offender, experienced most of the programs that Giddings had. He had a rough childhood as well, his mother was a prostitute, bounced around from aunt to aunt, and started off on the wrong foot. Luther felt that he was a lost hope, and that his destiny was a life full of crime. At the end of the chapter, we are made known that human beings need connections in order to survive properly. If the love is not there, the individual will thrive in negativity and fall down the wrong path. Chapter 7 Ronnie is the perfect example that even when it seems like all hope is lost, there is a positive ending. The lessons and therapy sessions the people working at this school do are for the best and in favor of the juveniles that have strayed off the good path in life. The program seems to have a lot of positive outcomes, and it is a great way to fix those, who are essentially broken. This chapter reflects on hard times Ronnie had and how he was put on the spot to showcase his feelings and what he went through.

Reflection This section of this book was extremely raw in terms of exposing child abuse, hard patterns in life, and early onset reasons why some people turn out the way that they are. It is sad to see that the actions of others, such as Ronnie’s example with being abandoned and tossed around in other people’s care, can influence a child’s life into their adolescence and later on in their life. I was especially taken aback with the fact that juveniles, such as Luther, turned out on such a bad path because of how mistreated they were as children. I am glad that institutions like the Giddings State School exist because it is important to have outlets as such in order to help those that were born into troubled lives and lack good guidance in their families. The techniques that these therapists use in the Giddings State School were great; the regression therapy and other methods helped Ronnie and others out of the dark pit they were in and onto a path of positivity with a good future ahead. I was especially happy with Ronnie’s progress. The chapters encompassed different conversations with other youth in the program and therapists, and the things Ronnie told them were heartbreaking. It really is sad to see such young people stray far away from the good because of harsh events they experienced in the past. Another prominent point of importance I picked up on was how the program had the juveniles interact with one another. This was a way to reassure them that they weren’t alone, and in times like this, it’s really

important to feel like there’s someone else who has been in your shoes and can be a guide on your path to goodness. Personally, I have not been affected in ways that these juveniles have been, but I understand how when you are young, the developing mind is very easily shaped and molded by the actions of others. What I was taught in elementary school still sticks with me to this day, like how to properly hold a pencil and how to act in a classroom. So, with this being said, if a child’s whole growing up period is filled with awful influences, negativity, lack of compassion and love, I can completely understand how easy it is to seek the desired attention elsewhere. Gangs are a big outlet for these juveniles because in gangs, they feel a sense of belonging and that someone wants them for once. It is really sad to see how the smallest things can catapult into such a negative lifestyle in the future....