NCJ Number
173955
Date Published
1998
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This is a series of interviews with young people in jail after being convicted of arson and other felony crimes, and interviews with their families.
Abstract
The video describes church bombings, arson and attacks on police cars by three adolescent males who were members of a satanic cult. It also describes cross burnings and church burnings by adolescents involved with the Ku Klux Klan. All the juveniles received jail sentences, ranging from 3 1/2 to 15 years. Some of the young people were interviewed in prison, and described what got them in trouble in the first place: involvement with drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, and failure to understand the seriousness of their actions. All said they had learned from the jail experience, and looked forward to building better lives for themselves after release from jail. Interviews with some of the juveniles' families illustrated how their behavior had wide-ranging and long-term effects on their parents and siblings. A law enforcement representative warned young persons that behavior formerly regarded as youthful pranks punishable by a slap on the wrist is now considered serious criminal behavior and will be punished as such.