NCJ Number
176475
Date Published
1996
Length
0 pages
Annotation
By contrasting life for juveniles (both male and female) in Georgia's various correctional facilities with the State's scholarship program to ensure a college or vocational education for achieving youth, this video aims to encourage youth to make the choice for school and preparation for a good job rather than the choice for crime.
Abstract
The narrators are two youth, a girl and a boy, who interpret what life is like in specific Georgia correctional institutions, from a secure shock incarceration unit to a maximum-security prison for adults. The video first reviews Georgia law applicable to juveniles. Georgia has a "two strikes" law that mandates a life term for anyone, including a juvenile, who is convicted of two violent offenses. Further, a juvenile who commits any of seven violent offenses is tried as an adult, and, if convicted, is sent to an adult prison. The video thus makes it clear that Georgia law is very severe when it involves violent crime, whether or not the offender is a juvenile. Also, being an accomplice in the commission of a violent crime, which may involve being a look-out or driving a car, warrants being charged with the violent crime. The core of the video involves a visual journey through the correctional facilities and programs that house juveniles. The viewer sees inmates engaged in hard labor, being verbally intimidated and controlled by correctional officers, and being placed in isolation because of a serious infraction. Throughout the tours various juvenile inmates comment to the viewer about what life is like in a correctional facility and how they wish they had made different choices in their lives. Following the tours of the correctional facilities, Georgia's Hope Scholarship program is described both visually and narratively. This program ensures that youth who maintain a "B" average in high school or earn a GED will have the funds to enter college or a vocational school, depending on their choice. The video thus makes it clear that youth do have a realistic pathway to a good job and a free and satisfying life. The choice is theirs.