It's unconscionable - Texas Youth Center

[Sheila]

http://www.ktsm.com/news/local/6538297.html : ...The six members of the Texas Youth Commission Board submitted their resignations to Governor Rick Perry this morning. The commission has been in turmoil since reports surfaced last month about the alleged sexual abuse of inmates by officials at the West Texas State School in Pyote....

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/4638825.html :
Owens took control of the scandal-ridden juvenile corrections system...,

...But with no doctor on staff, most would wait two weeks to receive any medication, he said.....

...The school has been at the center of the controversy because two administrators were allowed to resign in 2005 for allegedly having sex with boys in their care.....

...investigators have opened 615 misconduct and abuse cases systemwide, TYC spokesman Jim Hurley said Friday....

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...e/4615008.html : By a Texas Ranger, "When I interviewed the victims in this case, I saw kids with fear in their eyes, kids who knew they were trapped in an institution within a system that would not respond to their cries for help....

...Neither man has been charged, though the case has been revived by the attorney general's office and the local district attorney.

The Ranger's report indicates that one of the men was living with a 16-year-old unrelated boy on prison grounds. Investigators found pornographic magazines and sex toys under the youth's bed; the youth denied having any sexual contact with the school official....

....The public rebuke of TYC's board came after five of TYC's six remaining board members recounted that they learned two years ago of the Texas Rangers' investigation but neither spoke with a Ranger, ....

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/4597503.html : ...A Texas Rangers investigation in 2005 found that key employees of the West Texas State School in Pyote had repeated sexual contact with inmates. A later internal investigation confirmed the findings and said top officials knew of the abuse but did nothing to stop it.... emphasis added

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...e/4648428.html : ...Gov. Rick Perry's staff knew as early as June 2005 that two administrators at a Texas Youth Commission facility were not being prosecuted on allegations of sexually abusing youths in their custody, according to records obtained Tuesday by the Houston Chronicle....

http://www.lonestarproject.net/files/Burzynskiemail.pdf and http://www.burntorangereport.com/tag...FSR8UAodtkkQmQ : Apparently the Texas Attorney General's office and the US Attorney General's office were involved up to their eyeballs pertinent to NOT prosecuting the assaults and sexual assaults.

These kids are at the mercy of "the system." What can we expect of our youth when half of our fine, upstanding citizens are criminals of the worst order and the other half can't or won't do their jobs? I hope they get everything they deserve out of life. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif[/img]

Those we children in the Texas juvenile justice system, beware.

I'm off to write letters of disgust to our reigning officials. Appalling.

[tiredmommy]

Sheila,
That's absolutely appalling! Those children may not be angels, but they certainly don't deserve to be preyed upon. I hope there is justice.

[Marguerite]

Have you read "Sleepers" by Lorenzo Carcaterra? GFG1 used the book and the movie as supplementary material for his final high school English exams a few years ago (the topic that year was "the institution" - they had to discuss the set text as well as independently acquired supplementary material). Another one GFG1 used was "Shawshank Redemption", but "Sleepers" is what this case brings to mind.

Ghastly stuff.

Marg

[Fran]

What can we expect to happen with these kids? They are trapped and their guards are torturers and predators. We think they are getting natural consequences but they are unable to defend themselves.
Wonder how many teens were mentally ill?
I hope it comes to pass that the entire staff is removed and they start with a clean slate to make a model juvenile rehab type jail. Unfortunately Texas spends very little on kids.
The kids aren't there because they were model citizens but we wouldn't tolerate if our POW's were treated this way. How can we allow our children to be treated this way?

I read Sleepers. You are right Marguerite. It does put one in mind of that situation.

[timer lady]

Sheila,

I've been following this story with some trepidation. I'm terrified for these children & the lasting effects of such treatment.

[TerryJ2]

Wow.
Very scary. And sad.

[DDD]

We've had juvenile deaths in our State. Not a bunch (or at least not a bunch that made it into media coverage) but enough
that "the system" is obviously flawed. In theory letting the
natural consequences be borne makes sense. In theory it also
makes sense to trust that the prosecuting attorneys will be fair,
the public defenders will be dedicated and the judges will do their best to protect the public while rehabilitating the GFGs.

Once you get beyond the idealized picture, you find that our
youth are treated more punitatively than adult offenders. The mental health needs are huge and the help is limited. Although
there is NO justification for sexual abuse, I think that often
in other areas the "harshness" is the carryover from the "spare
the rod spoil the child" mindset. The male dominance in the juvie field sets up Alpha male issues from the cops on the street
straight through to the Judge on the bench who thinks "this little punk needs to learn a lesson".

The whole thing is sick and almost guarantees that society will
see the revolving door of justice starts younger and younger. I
will never forget the little blond seven year old who was in
the juvie center with teenagers...good grief! DDD

[Stella Johnson]

I was reading about this today in the Dallas paper. Just horrible. The entire commission should be fired. No exceptions. Then start on the schools.

I can't imagine what these kids have gone through

steph