Episode 9: ‘You Just Sit There and Wait for the Next Day to Come’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. In many counties, pre-trial juvenile offenders are still put in solitary. In this episode, WNYC teams up with The Marshall Project to investigate how widespread the practice remains.
Episode 8: ‘I Want Someone to Love Me Even for a Second’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. Policy experts even use the term "sexual abuse to prison pipeline," and they say it’s why incarcerating a young girl perpetuates more negative behavior and makes it harder to exit the system.
Episode 7: ‘It’s the Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. Desperate parents with means can turn to a whole network of private programs before their kids even get caught. For a young person named James, this type of intervention in his teenage years was
Episode 5: ‘The Teenage Brain Is Like a Sports Car’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. Stephen is one of thousands of so-called "juvenile lifers" who have an unexpected shot at freedom today. Up until 2005, most juveniles could be sentenced just as harshly as adults: that meant life
Episode 4: ‘Oh My God, What Have I Done?’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. Honor has struggled for years with leukemia, homelessness and suicide attempts. Like many young people who struggle with mental illness, "the incident" pushed Honor into the criminal justice system.
Episode 3: ‘He Really Wants to Shoot Someone’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. At age 15, Z received his sentence in adult court. The reason why dates back 40 years, to a child named Willie Bosket. His crimes changed everything for kids and criminal justice.
Episode 2: ‘They Look at Me Like a Menace’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. In our first episode, we met Z. Z is a kid who's had mental health challenges since he was small, and when he's gotten the support he needs, he has thrived. Inside lock up,
Episode 1: ‘I Just Want You to Come Home’
Co-published with WNYC Studios. What happens once we decide a child is a criminal? What does society owe those children, beyond punishment?