>> he is a very dangerous person, he needs to remain detained. >> man. >> i am telling you, that is the option. >> i am telling you, if i go back to that school i will violate my probation. >> he reaches over the seat, pulls out a gun aimed at my chest. i moved and it hit me in the arm. >> if two years of place mement hasn't changed your ways. today, what i will do. >> if i keep messing around with this i will end up dead.

>> i am going home. i can't do it. i can't do it. >> you are making a wrong decision. okay. it is not the end of the world. you will get over this. you are not supposed to like it here. this isn't the hilton. >> unfortunately, he wants to be with mom. it has him very upset.

>> it is the brothers, you two are brothers. >> it is like we had this. over at the bus station. they are not coming to get us. >> there are places in this world more tightly confined. for some kids, the lock up snags one generation after the next. >> my dad is locked up. right now, my mom and my six sisters and nieces and nephew and they don't have a man in the house to look up to. to teach them right and wrong it. has been hard. >> 30 miles south of chicago, judge provides over a numbing

docket. 3200 cases it is her job to make sure that kids that come to this detention center and complex leave here, and forget there is an option to graduating to the adult prison system. >> some children are born into a situation that is a bad one. in some neighbors, it is do on to others before it is done to you. for us not raised there, it is hard to understand. it is survival to perpetrate before they are perpetrated against. >> msnbc has been relaying the stories, with access from the indiana state court, we are about to go into a world where cameras are by law forbiden to go. >> 40 vehicles, counted altogether, they have been doing it over a three-month period.

each street corner watching. they failed to understand, there are cameras, all we have to do is put the face with the name. >> they had a picture of me. my mom was like, no. the picture don't look like me. about to charge me for lying to the police. my mom is on probation, too. they said, turn myself n or they'll give my momma six years. i wish i never would have didn't things i did. >> kenneth or kentrell. >> the brothers hail from the streets of gary, indiana. birth place of the jackson five. and two-time murder capital of the world. 50% of the kids live below the poverty level.

you have an open complaint. come monday, if the court makes the decision there is a chance you need to know that. >> staff see the same faces over and over again. despite the kids' promises they will never return. >> this is your sixth complaint this will be your seventh complaint. you just left here. two weeks later, you are here. >> he has a quiet reserve about him. for somebody that has a history like that his disposition doesn't add up. >> i am looking at your history here, you first got arrested when you were 11 years old. >> dad is incarcerated for dealing crack, he said. a month later, you were arrested

for mischief battery, consumption, robbery and theft. >> ten kids, that is a large family. that tells me, he has seen a lot. there is more to the story. >> your brother told me you accidently shot him in the stomach. >> that was when i was 11. >> that is when i first got into the juvenile system. >> i still think about that? >> we all know how this is. he has never been in this situation, where he had to come here, how to react. he don't know what to it do.

>> his brother is here as well. >> he is still a kid. he don't need to be in here. squat down, cough twice. >> separate him. can't put him with his brother. >> want to keep them separated, so that court comes, they can't lie. that is why we keep them separated. he won't see his brother until his court date. >> to paint a richer picture of indiana and their juvenile population, you have to see

hobard. the juvenile crime doesn't discriminate. >> he had a bench warrant, failed to appear in court. violation of probation. his mother was present, probation officer was present, he was not. >> i was walking down the street. a cop knew me by face, turned around and picked me up. >> the nurse said you can have an extra blanket to keep your arm up. >> he told me, i asked what happened to his arm, that he was robbing a drug dealer and state thad he was trying to be good to keep the drugs off the street. >> i have a reputation as a drug dealer, gang member. just a bad kid.

>> it is up to the judge. he didn't come to court thinking, i will turn 18, everything will be dropped. that is the they think once they are 18, everything goes away. that is not the truth. >> not behaving yourself right now. >> i ran away from i was 17. wasn't getting along well. i didn't go to the court date because i was not at home. >> what happened to your arm. >> i was going to rob him, take his weed. >> the lady, he was trying to get with her. she called him over. said her boy wanted weed. gave him a hug and [ bleep ]. >> hitting with him with what

your fist. >> pulled out the gun and shot you. >> decided not to charge you with attempted robbery? i like to see how close i can get without getting caught. >> that wasn't a stray bullet. that was an act in response to something he was doing of a criminal nature.

>> from 1995 to 2002, juvenile arrest rates for robbery dropped 62%. that statistic didn't last. it jumped 43% from the all-time low.

>> i started stealing off him. he pulls out a gun. i moved at the last minute. >> it is not an armed robbery that has devin here, this 18-year-old, an adult in the eyes of the law, is back here to see a judge for failing to appear at the last court hearing when he was still a kid. he is walking a fine line. the judge could dismiss him or waive him to adult court. >> i have been locked up three of the past four years, three of the past four years, that is a lot of my childhood. >> i have seen him four, five times. he is one of those incidents, where you practically raised the

kids. >> teenaged years are down the drain. supposed to be having the time of my life. i have been inside this damn cells. >> this gun shot wound, that turned me around. made me think. this close to being killed. only 18. i want to do something with my life. i am tired of this place. >> girls aren't immune to the system. >> there are a lot more male residents than female. we may have 10 girls to 80 boys. >> girls make up a quarter of the juvenile population.

58% of all runaway cases involve girls. >> if i were you, i would want to go home and shower. put on my own clothes. >> underwear. and a bra that fits. >> she is serving time for running away and resisting arrest. her mom shows up for visitation every night. hoping she can go through to sydney before her approaching court date. i am playing with the orange thread. >> so, if you do get out, what are you going to do? >> it is not like i will be in here forever. i am getting out soon. >> then you can go back to school. >> i told you, i am not going hohighland. if i do, i will -- >> that is the one school

district we live in. again, there is no alternatives. >> i can go to any alternative school. i hate everyone in it. >> i am telling you. >> if i go back to that school, i will violate my probation. >> what is that supposed to mean? >> don't worry about it. >> you are black mailing me. i know you won't do it. that is stupid. >> you being here, isn't? >> they are set up to allow kids to do certain things in their life that they don't have to have held against them. making the mistake for the first time. shake it off and move on.

>> for kids who have a harder time figuring out what right path is. >> i saw someone left the keys in their ignition. i took their car, too. >> people in places like this, they are not bad kids, they made bad choices. >> i have been in two high speed chases. >> do something bad because we get bored. they have no type of activities, no clubs, no fun centers, nothing. they are trying to have fun, even though it is breaking the law. they think of it as having fun. >> raise your hand. >> every day, i think about how i will survive when i go

outside. i won't be able to come back home peacefully. >> the minute you go to someone's house, and they -- exactly. one honest person in here. >> i need to be in a different environment. that is where i think i need to be. >> i don't know, i mean, for right now, it is a 50-50 detainer. you think about it.

a judge, the prosecutor, that is a lot of people to go against when you are by yourself. you sleep in here, you think about what will happen in court. what they are going say. what they are going do to you. detain you, or release you. >> i am 18 years old. i have a lot of years to live. if i keep missing around with this, i will end up dead or in jail. >> i know that you want to leave. i would like to give you a break here. this is your sixth referral in the year of 2008.

the kids were arrested on friday, have to wait until monday to see the judge.

>> hear you think about court dates, what will happen in court. like, what they are going to say. what they are going to do to you. >> for kenth and his brother kentrell, they are not alone in their desire to be release and sent home. don rock representing the kids in court. >> i think the perception or misprep acception is similar to the adult court. the system is much more concerned about getting kids rehabilitated and have this not happen again. aside from locking someone up. >> the judge in particular, that despite you having been here before and not learned your lesson, that you will learn your lesson and not get in trouble. help me understand what is going on in your life that help to demonstrate that. >> i play ball.

>> where? >> at the court. >> tell me about that. what position do you play? >> i just play ball. >> what else do you do besides play basketball? >> i wish he never got himself in this. he is a kid. i pray, i hope he gets out. >> i know you are a quiet person you have to make a decision if you want to stay in here or not. we will put both of you on the stand. the prosecutor will have a chance to ask you questions. she is tough. her job is protect society from people who commit crimes repeatedly. let's be frank. if the judge thinks you are a danger, get used to this place.

>> i am not going to court? >> what do you. >> to court for? >> probation. >> i have been on probation for five years. >> now that i am 18, they can't hold me more than 120 days, as soon as i get my legal trouble out of the way, i have all the essential tools and capabilities to carry me anywhere i want to go. it is just, me finding a way to use them.

monday morning means court is back in session. they are shackled for the their safety and the safety of those bringing them. two different, but heavy hearings, the case of two young brothers, in detention over and over, could face years in the juvenile system, and steppen, who will stand at 18 in the judge's courtroom one more time. if he gets locked up again, it will be an adult jail. >> i said no, i can't let you in the house. i find out you were shot.

>> here is what is happening,

authorities are widening the search area, looking for the wreckage of a jet that vanished from radar. they are considering the possibility that plane turned around at some point. dozens of military trucks have been spotted carrying armed forces in the ukraine peninsula. it is court day at lake county juvenile. this hearing is not opened to the public, the supreme court has given up permission of what goes on behind the doors of the juvenile justice system. the judge determines, which will be detailed and those who will go home with their parents. >> i talked with your sister,

your mother was having heart problems, can't be here today. i don't know if she went to the hospital. or what circumstances are. your sister is coming, although, she was supposed to be here at 8:30, she is not here yet. it is now about noon. that is the update on things. is there something you want me to tell your sister? she is supposed to call me back. >> hang tight. we will see if your mother or sister can get here. we can get to court, okay?

>> best behavior. if you don't act right in court, nobody will trust you in society. >> your sister is here. >> do you swear or affirm that testimony you will state is the truth and nothing but the truth? >> yes. >> do you have any witnesses on behalf of the boys? >> i call octavia on the stand. >> their mother is not here? >> my mom has been going through high blood pressure and diagnosed with cancer. she was sick, i had to take her to the hospital. i had to stay with the kids. >> how many brothers and

sisters? >> right now, nine. >> are you the the oldest? >> the oldest girl, yes. >> dad in the picture? >> he was until about four months ago, he is incarcerated. kenneth has been the man of the house. he is our backbone. >> no questions, judge. >> we spoke about what court is here to decide, if you should stay detained or be released. >> i should be released because i know i ain't a bad kid. i am not a harm to nobody. i made a bad decision at that moment the. i know they did something wrong, but i know i can fix it. now, i know that life is serious. me being with my family, then being locked up. >> kenneth, how many times have you been on probation with this court? >> twice. >> you are on probation right

now? >> yes. >> does getting involved in criminal acts a violation of probation? >> yes, ma'am. >> i have no further questions, judge. >> as related to kentrell, this is his fourth criminal, criminal reckless, d-fell neempt tells me a weapon was used or a victim was seriously injured. as related to kenneth, this is his sixth criminally, i ask they be detained. >> children are being detailed, rather than stay locked up, they go home. i suggest to the court to release them home it. may not be the home that we think is the best environment,

it is their home. >> the probation officer weighed in. and has indicated to the court that he feels that both boys should be detained as a danger to the community, because of their repeated acts. what i am going to do is order that they remain detained pending the next hearing. any questions? >> these are two boys, certainly, the younger brother, following in the older brother's foot steps, six times detained here. the mom is not here today. she may or may not be ill. i have no idea. >> there is no supervision. tomorrow, they will be on the street. they don't know any different. if six incarserations don't change your behaviors, one over

nighter is not going to do it. i think they will end up hurting someone if not themselves. >> state your name. >> devin. >> hold are you? >> 18. >> devin was arrested on a befrp warrant. his whereabouts have been unknown by the lake county department and failed to attend an education al counseling. >> i left the home, trying to live on my own. >> talk about why you left the home. why did you leave your mother's home? >> the reason i left, we started

to getting into arguments. i was getting into trouble. i started smoking weed. i left the home. because i was scared. when i went to court, these would be brought up. i would be in trouble. >> what were you thinking would happen to this case? >> i was thinking, upon my 18th birthday, it would be dropped. as the case is, it isn't. >> as it relates to your arm in a sling, what happened to you? >> i was on my own, hanging with the the wrong group of people. got myself into a situation where i got shot. >> you are lucky you are alive? >> yes, ma'am. >> you wanted you want to take him home? >> yes, do i. >> do you think he learned his lesson? >> i do. he almost died. i almost lost my son. i had to give him tough love. and my tough love was, for two weeks prior to him getting shot.

mom, please let me come home. i will straighten up. i wouldn't let him. i said no. i said, i can't let you in the house. then i find out he was shot. >> on this monday, the judge found it is in the best interest for the brothers, kenneth and kenit. rell to remain detained. will devin's mother's pleas convince the judge to let him go home. >> he is the on verge of being able to turn that corner. >> latte or au lait?

sunny or bubbly? cozy or cool? "meow" or "woof"? wheels or wheeeels? everything exactly the way you want it ...until boom, it's bedtime. your mattress isn't bliss: it's a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the all-new sleep number classic series. designed to let couples sleep together in individualized comfort. starting at just $699.99 for a queen mattress. he's the softy: his sleep number setting is 35. you're the rock: your setting is 60. that works. he's the night owl. his side's up while you're in dreamland. you're the early bird. up and at 'em. no problem, because you're in it together... keeping the love alive. and by the way - snoring? sleep number's even got an adjustment for that. crazy? only if sleeping peacefully with your soulmate is crazy. find your sleep number setting only at one of our 425 stores nationwide. you can afford a sleep number bed, you can't afford another mediocre night's sleep.

know better sleep with sleep number. then a little time to kick back. earn double hilton honors points with the 2x points package and be one step closer to a weekend break. doubletree by hilton. where the little things mean everything. the next time you rent a dvd, don't bother rewinding it. the way i see it, it's the next guy's problem. oh, larry. she thinks i'm crazy. mm-hmm. but would a crazy person save 15% on car insurance in just 15 minutes? [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] 15 minutes for a quote is crazy. with esurance, 7½ minutes could save you on car insurance. welcome to the modern world.

esurance. backed by allstate. click or call. in 1998, serious judge bonaventure advocated for this building to replace the original

decaying facility. her demand, better facilities for kids and families. >> with the kids, in the hearing or outside the hearing is monumental. i think if there is one single thing i can point to to be able to predict the success or failure of a young person is the family involvement and support. >> it sounds like if four years now, the court has been involved want only with his life, but yours as well. so, he has turned 18. you are a family that has had a lot of intervention. and quickly here, there will be none. >> we are there to back him up 100%. i do have a lot of family support. everybody is pulling for him. he has to pull for himself. >> judge, i am torn. everybody is tap dancing around the shooting of devin. that wasn't a stray bullet.

that was a purposeful act in response that devip was doing of a criminal name of the we have problems with he is an adult now. if he sits here for three, four months, i don't know what it will do for him. >> i don't either. >> i agree, 120 days here, if two years in placement didn't help him change your ways, i am not certain that any more time here will do anything for you. hopefully, getting shot in the arm has had. everything happens for a reason, i believe it does. today, what i am going to do, today, i will grant this petition to modify your probation, be released to your mother and release friday probation. >> i was surprised.

if he was 14, i would be doing something different for sure. >> i got a break. you have been coming here when you were this big. 13, 14. >> he needs to know, he will begin his adult life, and accept it in his adult life. >> you are going home? >> i hope so. >> you hope so? >> i have been hanging in. praying, reading the bible. >> what is your p.o. saying? >> did they give you a recommendation? >> no, i think it will be fair, if she just give me and my brother one more chance,

anything but boys school placement and jail. >> calling your first witness. >> i can't the mother to the stand. >> now that their mother appearances in court. there are no juries, the judge has the final say on what is best for the kids. >> are you able to take ken and kent home with you today, to provide the support they would need if they were released today. >> yes. >> how would you provide structure so they wouldn't get in any more trouble? >> for one, i will keep them in the house. i don't want to see them out in the streets, i don't them to be

hurt or do the wrong things. i have been trying to teach them. but they go out in the streets, and listen to their friends and get in trouble. i want them to come home. >> anything else you would like to say? >> no. >> what are you going to do differently? he has had four referrals to the juvenile court? >> take control over them. >> how are you going to do that? >> be a harder parent. >> you don't have a plan and action for it to change. you think it will change. >> i know it will change. >> i will put my foot down. >> you didn't before, you let them do what they wanted to do before? >> no, i didn't let them do anything they want to do. i tell them to do the right thing. they take it on themselves to do what they want to do.

on the outside my house. when they are in my house, they do what i tell them to do. >> kenneth defies you? >> sometimes. >> i have no further questions. >> if probation department recommend they remain detailed and ordered to complete the psychological evaluation. a lot of gang activity on the street they live on. i believe they are affiliated with the drug activity. >> anything else. >> yes, regarding kentrell. he is a dangerous person, he needs to remain detailed. as far as mr. gant, the state feels he is a dangerous person, he needs to remain detail also.

>> i would like the opportunity to say, they should no longer be detained. >> the decision is not an easy one for the judge. answers won't come overnight. services need ordered, and ultimately, she must decide if it is in everyone's best interest to send them home while it is in motion. >> well, today, of course, both boys have a psychological evaluation, i read the letter you wrote, about your girl friend having a baby soon. you said you would like to be there. i would like to give you a break here, in light, this is your sixth referral, in the year of 2008. the court order you remain de n deta detained. kent rel, this is his fourth

referral to this court, these are serious charges, for all of those reasons, the court finds he may be a danger to himself or the community, they remain detained. this court is adjourned, thank you. >> i don't like anybody to be in pain. i love them. i have been doing this job for 26 years, the work is heart-breaking. there is no more work that is more important than the work in a jufl court. >> i can't do it. when you vote for flo, we'll have discounts. ice-cream discounts. multi-cookie discounts. pizza loyalty discounts! [ kids chanting "flo!" ] i also have some great ideas on car insurance. [ silence ]

finding you discounts since back in the day. call or click today. i like her.

>> several weeks ago, we ordered a psychological evalvation be completed, with kentrel, we decided he should be placed in a residential treatment facility. with respect to kenneth, tell us about what your recommendation is. >> we agreed that he needs residential placement to meet his needs. >> you are not recommending they go home with their mother? >> not at this time. >> all right. >> i have no further questions. >> did you want to speak? >> i can't.

>> judge, i call the mother quickly for a couple of brief questions. >> now, you understand there is a recommendation that both of your sons be placed in a residential placement for a purpose of receiving services, educational tools, things like that what did you want to say, with respect to those options? >> do you think your kids should come home with you today? >> it is for the best. i want them to come home, but they need help. >> leave it to the court to decide? >> yes. >> thank you mrs. gant, you may have a seat back there.

>> judge, there are is no argument that kentrel needs placement. he has significant mental health needs, my problem with kenneth, he committed numerous acts of delinquency. he had counseling provided to him. he has not been amenable to the counseling, he has a track record, it isn't very good at this point. it is a serious matter for this court to decide it is going invest itself in a child to the extent that this county and this court is being asked to invest in kenneth, i don't see that there will be a lot of bang for our buck, to be perfectly honest. i think he is a dangerous person. i think he should be committed to indiana boys school.

>> i would agree, the boys school can address the issues that kenneth is facing. i know this much, if he were in the adult system, he would not be able to receive the treatment and the rehabilitation and the services that the juvenile court is designed to provide to children like kenneth and like kentrel. the tax pay rerz going to pay, whether we send them to corrections or placement. maybe we won't get the bang for the buck as you described t i will still put my faith in the juvenile court system, and i think we can do a better job than the adult system can do, in going to jail will do for him. i would love nothing more than to send both boys back home with you, i think you as a mom, why you are crying your heart out back there, knows that is not the right thing. kenneth is on the verge, verge of doing something horrible and

being taken away from you forever, on the verge of, if we hold his hand, help him turn that corner, help him do that i will make him a ward to the court, and i will set his matter for review in three months, as it relates to kentrel, i think this is a young man who probably the juvenile court system was designed for in some respects, i couldn't let him walk away from us, without trying to get him to a point where he is literate and can function in some type of job. today, the court is going to make him a ward of the court and ordered that he will in the indiana developmental training center. this hearing is adjourned. thank you.

>> they don't care about us, man. >> i can't do it man. >> i feel that this was the time for us to intervine it is a now or never situation for them. they are going get the help now or never get the help.

are you high? on marijuana? >> no. >> when was the last time you smoked? >> i don't know. >> what do you mean you don't know? >> i don't know. i got to try to do better. not just for me but for, like, my family. i don't want them to see me in a place like this anymore. >> i just seem to fall back into the same thing, criminal recklessness, assault with a deadly weapon, having no permit. >> how did you end up doing the armed robbery? >> walking by the liquor store. i was swearing at her, cussing at her, i told her she had a certain amount of seconds to open the cash register or i'm going to shoot her.