NCJ Number
180757
Date Published
1997
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This video depicts life in juvenile and adult correctional institutions and presents readings from letters from youth and adults who have served or are now serving time around the country, with emphasis on the negative consequences of drug abuse and the reality of detention and incarceration.
Abstract
A printed discussion leader's guide accompanies the video, notes that the program aims to deter youth from juvenile delinquency and crime, and offers a synopsis of the content and suggestions for questions to ask and issues to discuss with students. The video begins with pictures of unhappy faces of people of different races, sexes, and racial backgrounds, ending with a youth whose face becomes cancelled as if it were a stamp and with a sound that corresponds to the shutting of prison doors. The juvenile and adult inmates address their letters to their family and friends. The letters explore the guilt and sorrow resulting from a friend's drug-related death, the contrast between the experiences of stealing and using drugs and life in a correctional institution, the inmates' feelings of loneliness and regret, and the loss of a sense of dignity and privacy. Other letters focus on the difficulties of being separated from family; the consequences of child abuse; the relationship between drug abuse, suffering, and incarceration; and a mother's experience of losing a son due to her decision to use cocaine. Recurring themes include the desire to undo what has been done, to start over, and to make better choices in the future. The readers are well-known male and female actors.