didn't help you change your ways i'm not so certain that any more time here will do anything for you so today what i'm going to do. >> i have a lot of years to live and if i keep messing around with this i'm going to end up dead or in jail.

i want to go home, man! i want to go home, man! i didn't do it. i can't do it. i can't do it. i can't do it. >> you made a wrong decision. okay? it's not the end of the world. you'll get over this, you know? you're not supposed to like it here. this isn't the hill. >> unfortunately, what he wants is just to be with mom. what every kid wants, you know? and it has him very upset.

>> the brothers. you two are brothers? >> we had some stuff at the bus station where they were not coming to get us. >> there are more things more tightly secured than the juvenile justice system, but for some kids the revolving door of lockup seems to snag one generation after the next. >> my dad, he's locked up. so right now it's just my mom and my six sisters and my nieces and nephews and my brother and they don't have no man of the house to look up to to teach them what's right and what's wrong so it's been hard. >> 30 miles south of chicago lake county superior judge judge bonaventure presides over a docket, 3200 cases in 2008 alone.

it's her job to make sure the kids that come to this detention center leave here and forget that there's each an option of graduating to the adult prison system. >> i think some children are just born into a situation that is a bad one, and in some neighborhoods it's almost like do unto others before they do it to you. so for those of us that aren't raised in those types of neighborhoods it is difficult to understand. sometimes it's survival, but they get out there and they have to perpetrate before they're perpetrated against. >> for years msnbc has been documenting the tragic stories that unfold in america's juvenile justice system. with extraordinary access from the indiana supreme court, we're about to go inside a world where cameras are, by law, forbidden to go. >> you guys can't watch video. >> they've been doing this over a three-month period. two of them ran sacked the cars they broke in. two of them were on a street corner watching that the police won't come.

what they failed to understand is there are cameras. all we had to do was put the face and the name. >> they had a picture of me and my mom was, like, no because on the picture it don't look like me. they're about to charge you for lying to the police because i'm on probation, too, so they said as long as i turn myself in they weren't going to give my mom the six years. i wish i had never had done the things i did. >> is it kenneth or kentrell? >> his name is kentrell, my name's kenneth. >> brothers kenneth and kentrell hail from gary, indiana, birthplace of the jackson 5 and two-time murder capital of the world. 60% of kids in gary live below the poverty level. >> there's a good chance that you're not going go home on monday because you're currently

on probation and you have an open complaint. >> they may be the case, but as far as come monday when court judge makes the decision whether or not you can go home. there's a good chance and you need to know that. many times intake department staff see the same faces over and over again, despite kids' previous promises, they'll never return to the system. >> this is your sixth complaint. no, actually this will be your seventh complaint. you just left here and that is, what? two weeks later and you're here. he has, like, a quiet reserve about him and for somebody that has, like, a history like that, like his disposition doesn't add up. i'm looking at your history here, and i see that you first got arrested when you were 11 years old. >> dad is incarcerated for dealing crack, he said. and then a month later you were arrested for mischief, battery,

consumption, intimidation, rivalry and theft. >> mom, there are ten kids, it's a large family. five have been here so that tells me he has seen a lot. there's more to the story. >> they're talking to his brother and he told me you accidentally shot him in the stomach last year. >> that's when i was 11. >> that's when you were 11 that you accidentally did that? wow! >> that's enough to get you into the juvenile system. >> oh, do you still think about that? >> always. >> walk on the right side of the hallway. >> when he gets out, he don't know how this is. he ain't ever been in this situation like this where he had to come here and do no days in here. he don't know how to react in here and he don't know what to do and consequences and stuff if you do something bad. >> read these rules.

>> i'm not sure where you want to put him at. >> he's still a little kid. he don't need to be in here. >> you're going to squat down and cough twice. just like that. squat down and cough twice. come on, cough twice. >> we've got to make sure he's separated. i can't put him over there with his brother. >> you want to keep them separated so that when court comes they can't get their stories matched. they can't lie. so that's why we keep them separated so he won't see his brother until the court date. >> to paint a richer picture of lake county, indiana, and its juvenile delinquency population, you have to head to the blue collar town of hobart. the median household income may be twice that of neighboring gary, but juvenile crime does

not discriminate. >> he had a bench warrant and failed to appear in court. he had a criminal mischief and two counts of violation of probation. his mother was present and his probation officer was present and he was not, so -- >> i was walking down the street and i was truant for not appearing in court. the cop knew me by face and turned around and picked me up. >> the nurse said you can have an extra blanket to roll up to keep your arm up while you're in your room. >> he just told me when i asked him what happened to his arm that he was robbing a drug dealer and he stated that he was trying to be good to keep the drug off the street. >> i have a reputation as a drug dealer, a gang member, just a bad kid. i'm only 18, this is too much to be dropped on me. >> no. that's when juveniles think. it's up to the judge.

he didn't come to the court thinking i'm going to turn 18 and everything will be dropped. that's a misconception that the juveniles have. they think once they're 18 that everything goes away and that's not the truth. >> you're not really behaving yourself right now. >> yeah, i am. i haven't gotten in no trouble in a couple of months. >> besides this. >> i ran away from home when i was 17. i just wasn't talking to my mom and wasn't getting along real well and so i didn't go to the court date because i wasn't at home. >> tell me exactly what happened to your arm. >> one of my boys told me that this drug dealer was trying to get with his lady. so i had his lady set him up and i was going to take his weed. >> how'd you have his lady set him up. >> he was trying to get with her so then she called him over and said that her boy wanted some weed and when she gave him a hug i just started hitting him and [ bleep ]. >> hitting him with what? your fist? >> yeah. he pulled out the gun and shot me.

>> they decided not to charge you with attempted robbery? >> i wanted to see how close i could get to getting caught without actually getting caught. >> that's stupid. you're blackmailing me. that's stupid, mom. >> you being here isn't? >> that wasn't a bullet that entered his arm. that was a purposeful act in response to something devon was doing of a purposeful nature.

from 1995 to 2002, juvenile arrests dropped a staggering 62%. unfortunately, that statistic didn't last. by 2006 robbery rates for juveniles jumped 43% from their all-time low. >> someone was robbing me, dude. he reaches over and pulls out a gun and had it aimed at my chest

and i moved and it hit me in the arm. >> it's not an armed robbery that has devon starky here this time, though. this 18-year-old, an adult in the eyes of the law is back here in juvenile detention to see a judge for failing to appear at his last court hearing when he was still a kid. he's walking a fine line. the judge can simply dismiss him on monday from the juvenile system or he can take the extreme measure of waiving him to adult court. >> i've had multiple violations. i've been locked up three of the past four years. three of the past four years. that's a lot of my childhood. >> how are you doing? >> you got shot. >> i've seen him four or five times and he was in one of those incidents where they practically rape the kid. >> this is the time i'm supposed to be having the most fun of my life.

i'm inside these damn cells. >> there's been a lot of kids come in and out of the system. a lot of them that i've gotten close to that, unfortunately, got killed. different situations whether they be something they initiated or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. >> this gunshot wound, that kind of turned me around. i was close to being killed, you know? i'm only 18. i want to do something with my life. i'm tired of coming into these damn cells. >> while boys represent nearly three-quarters of all juvenile arrests, girls aren't immune to the system. >> there are a lot more male residents than there are female. since it's been here, it's always been like that. we might have ten girls to 80 boys. >> nationally, girls only make up a quarter of the juvenile population, but 58% of all runaway cases involve girls.

>> i know if i were you i probably want to go home and shower and put on some of my own clothes. >> my own underwear. >> and a bra that fits. >> 15-year-old sydney is serving time in detention for running away and resisting arrest. like clockwork her mom shows up for visitation every night, hoping she can get through to sydney before her approaching court date. >> why are you picking at it? >> because i feel like it. >> why are you picking at it? >> i'm not. i'm playing with an orange piece of thread. >> if you do get out, what are we going to do? >> it's not like i'm going to be in here forever. i'm getting out soon. >> then you can go back to school shortly after that. >> i'm probably not going to highland. i told you, the one school i will not go to is highland. >> and that's the one school district we live in. >> so? >> again, there's no

alternative. i'll go to any alternative school. i just don't want to go to highland. i hate everyone in it. >> i am telling you that that is the option. >> i'm telling you if i go back to that school i'm definitely going to violate my probation. >> what's that supposed to mean? >> don't worry about it. >> i am worried about it, what's that supposed to mean? >> don't worry about it. >> i won't -- >> that's stupid, you're not going do it. it's so stupid, mom. >> you being here isn't? >> not really. >> juvenile court is set up to allow kids to do certain things in their life that they later don't have to have held against them. it's like making the mistake for the first time, okay, shake it off and move on and that's hopefully what a juvenile court does for kids having a harder time figuring out what the right path is.

>> i can't stop getting behind the wheel. i was walking down the street and i saw someone had left the keys in the ignition and i took that car, too. >> people need speed. >> people who are in these places like that ain't just bad kids, they just make bad choices at that time. >> i've been in two high-speed chases. >> three, four! >> you do something bad because we just get bored because ain't got no type of activities, no, like, clubs. no fun centers or nothing out here. so that's why people, they just trying to have fun even though it's breaking the law, but they think of it as having fun. >> how many of you want to make a change in your life today? i want you to hold up your hand. >> every day i think about having to survive when i go outside, if i'll be able to come back home peacefully.

>> the minute you show up at someone's house and someone pops a cold brew in your face, what are you going to do? exactly. we have one honest person in here. >> i just need to be in a different environment with less violence, less activities going in the neighborhood. that's where i need to be. >> you've done everything for me by dying on the cross. by rising from the dead. >> i've been through so many of these court dates. i don't know, i mean, i'm at 50/50, detained or released. i mean, you think about it, a judge that's prosecuted. that's a lot of people to go

against when you're by yourself. >> when you sleep in here you always think about what's going to happen on court night. what they're going to say and what they're going to do to you and if they're going to detain you or if they're going to release you. i can't be doing it. i'm 18 years old. i've got a lot of years to live, and if i keep messing around with this i'm going to end up dead or in jail. >> i know that you want to leave and i want to give you a break here, but in light of this is your sixth referral, four in 2008. @ñ

>> as sunday morning breaks over crown point, indiana, the kids inside lake county juvenile center wake up to face another 24 hours without freedom, family or friends. >> come on, guys. >> the kids who were arrested on friday have to wait until monday to see the judge. [ bleep ]. >> in here you always think about your court dates and think

about what's going to happen in court night, what they're going to say, what they're going to do to you. >> luckily for 17-year-old kenneth and his 14-year-old brother kentrell who is also here at lake county juvenile, they're not alone in their desire to be released and sent home. attorney don rock represents kids in court. >> i think that the perception or misperception of juvenile court is that it's similar to the adult court. the reality is the system is much more concerned about giving hides rehabilitated and giving them an opportunity to have not this happen again as opposed to just locking someone up. >> one of the things we'll have is convincing the court and the judge in particular that despite you having been here before and not learned your lesson that you're going to learn your lesson this time and not get into trouble again. so kentrell, help me understand some of the things that are going in your life that helped demonstrate that. >> i play ball. >> where do you play ball at? >> at the court.

>> tell me a little bit about that. what do you do? what position do you play? >> i just play ball. >> what else do you do besides play basketball? >> i just wish he never got himself into this. he's still a little kid. i just pray every day, like, i hope he get out. >> i know you're a very quiet person, but you've got to make a decision if you want to stay in here or not because we'll put both of you guys on the stand and ask you guys some questions and the prosecutor will have a chance to ask you guys some questions. her job is to protect society from people who commit crimes and people who commit crimes repeatedly and that's what she sees in you two right now, let's be frank. if the judge thinks that you guys are an ongoing threat and you're still a danger, get used to this place.

>> how'd you get that bench warrant, though? >> going to court. >> what do you have to go to court for? >> probation. >> what did you do on probation? >> i've been on probation for five years. >> five years? >> i'm not really too worried about these court dates. i don't know. now that i'm 18, legally they can't hold me no more than 120 days. as soon as i get this legal trouble out of the way i know i'm going have a good life. i have all of the essential tools and capability to carry me anywhere i want to go, but it's just me finding a way to use it. >> monday morning means court is back in session. those detained downstairs in the

detention center are shackled for their own safety and the safety of those bringing them to the juvenile court. >> on judge bonaventure's docket today, both equally heavy hearings. the case of two young brothers who have been in detention over and over still could face years in the juvenile system and then there's devon who at 18 will stand, it will be in adult jail. >> with the knowledge that i have now, i could be anywhere if i hadn't started messing around with the drugs. >> do you think your kids can come home with you today? >> i want them to come home, but it's for the best. >> i said no, i can't do that. i can't let you in the house and then i found out he was shot.

>> it's court day at lake county juvenile, and though this hearing is not open to the public, the indiana supreme court has given us special permission to show what dos behind the closed doors of the juvenile justice system. today judge bonaventure decides which kids will be detained and which will go home with their parents. >> i wanted to let you know i talked this morning with your sister. apparently your mother was having some hypertension or some high blood pressure and heart problems this morning and can't

be here today. i don't know if she went to the hospital or what the circumstances are, but i talked to your sister and your sister supposedly is coming although she was supposed to be here at 8:30 and she's not here yet. so it's now about noon. so that's the update on things. is there something you want me to tell your sister if i talk to her again because she's supposed to call me back in a few minutes. >> tell her to pick my mom up. i'll let her know, but hang tight for a little while longer and we'll see if your mother or your sister can be here and we'll get to court, okay?

>> come on, guys. be on your best behavior. if you don't act right in court the judge won't trust your behavior in society, okay? one on the right side and one on the left side. >> your sister's here. >> raise your right hand, please. do you swear or affirm that the testimony given today is the truth and nothing, but the truth so help you god? >> yes. >> please be seated. >> mr. rock, do you have witnesses that you'd like to call on behalf of the boys? >> i'd like to call octavia to the stand. >> your mother is not here today, right? >> yes. tell us what reason your mom is not here. >> my mom has had high blood pressure and she's been diagnosed with cancer and she was sick last night. >> how many brothers and sisters do you have? >> nine. >> are you the oldest?

>> i'm the oldest, yes. >> is your dad in the picture. >> about four months ago he was incarcerated. >> kenneth is the one who has been the man of the house. he's really our backbone. >> that's all i have. >> mrs. deucik? >> no questions, judge. >> ken, we spoke yesterday about what the court is here today to decide whether you should stay to pay or whether you should be released. >> i should be released because i know i ain't a bad kid. i ain't no harm to nobody. i just made a bad decision at that moment and i know i did something wrong, but i know i can fix it. now i know that life is serious and life is more about me being at home and being with my family than being locked up. >> kenneth, how many times have you been on probation with this court? >> twice. >> are you on probation right now? >> yes.

>> is 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 delinquency. presently, he has an attempted robbery that would be a b felony if he were an adult, criminal recklessness that would be a d felony and an attempted robbery in that it's a b felony tells me either a weapon was used or a victim was seriously injured. as related to kenneth ghantt, that is his sixth criminal delinquency referral. he's obviously not following the rules of probation. i'd ask that they both remain detained as serious danger to this community. >> the preference, any case like this when children are being detained rather than they stay locked up that they go home, and i would suggest to the court to release them home. it may not be the home that we all think is the best environment, but it's their home.

>> the probation officer has 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 of delinquency. what i'm going do today is order that they remain detained pending their next hearing. any questions? all right. then these hearings are adjourned. these are two boys, certainly the younger brother who is following in the older brother's footsteps. the oldest boy, six times he's been detained here. six times. and the mom's not here today and she may or may not be ill. i have no idea. there's no supervision and i think tomorrow they would be out on the street. they don't know any different. if six incarcerations don't change your behavior, one overnighter is not going to do it and i do think that

eventually they will end up hurting somebody if not themselves. >> i'm going to bonaventure? >> would you state your name, please? >> devon starky. >> how old are you, devon? >> i'm 18. >> all right. we're here today because devon was arrested on a bench warrant which was issued by this court. devon starky's whereabouts were unknown by the juvenile probation department further that he had failed to attend his court or counseling and lastly, that he had failed to attend an educational program on a regular basis. >> want to have a seat up here, please? >> you were ordered by the court to attend counseling, is that correct? >> yes, ma'am. >> did you attend counseling? >> i have left the home and was trying to live on my own so i didn't attend for june. >> let's talk about why you left the home. why did you leave your mother's home? >> the reason i left is we started to get into arguments.

i started getting into trouble, and i started smoking weed again and i left the home because i was scared that when i did go to court these would be brought up and i would end up getting in trouble. >> what were you thinking that was going to happen to this case, devon? >> i was thinking once upon my 18th birthday it would just be dropped, but as the case is it isn't. >> as it relates to the arm in the sling, what happened to you, devon? >> while identifies my own i was hanging with the wrong group of people and got myself into a situation where i got shot. >> so you are very luck they you're alive, aren't you? >> yes, ma'am. >> you indicated that you wanted to take devon home with you today? >> yes, i do. >> do you think he learned his lesson this time? >> i really do. he almost died. i almost lost my son. i had to give him some tough love, and my tough love was he couldn't come home and for two weeks prior to him being shot he came to him for two weeks begging mom, let me come home,

mom, please let me come home. i'll straighten up, and i wouldn't let him. i said no. i can't do that. i can't let you in the house, and then i find out he was shot. >> so on this monday, the judge found it's for the best interest for the brothers kenneth and kentrell to remain detained until their next court hearing. will devon's mother pleas and his age be enough to convince the judge it's time for him to go home? >> he's on the verge of either doing something really horrible in his life and taken away from me forever or he's on the verge of maybe able to turn that corner.

in 1998 senior judge mary beth bonaventure advocated for the detention and courthouse to replace the original decaying

facility. her demand, better facilities for kids and families. >> the family support in these hearings in general with the kids whether it's with the hearing or outside the hearing is monumental. i think if there was one single thing that i could point to to be able to predict the success or failure of a young person is the family involvement and support. >> it sounds like for about four years now the court's been involved not only with his life, but obviously your life as well. so he's turned 18 now. your family has had a lot of intervention and pretty quickly here there will be none. >> we are there to back him up 100%. i do have a lot of family support. everybody's pulling for him, you know? but he has to pull for himself. >> judge, i'm really torn. everybody's tab dancing around the shooting of devon. that wasn't a stray bullet that

entered his arm. that was a purposeful act in response to something devon was doing of a criminal nature, but we also have problems with he's an adult now. if he sits here for three or four months, i don't know what that's going to do for him. >> i don't either. >> because i agree that 120 days here, if two years in placement didn't help you change your ways, i'm not so certain that any more time here is going to do anything for you, but, you know, hopefully getting shot in the arm has. everything happens for a reason, or at least i believe it does. so today what i'm going to do is -- today i'm going to grant this petition to modify this probation and i am going to order that you be released to the custody of your mother and i'll order that you be released from probation. all right? >> any questions? >> not really. >> all right. this meeting is adjourned. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> i was surprised that she gave me one last break.

>> if he was 14 i would be doing totally different, i'm sure. >> come you were coming here since you were about this big since i first met you, right? about 13 or 14? >> we've done all we can do and he needs to begin his adult life and accept the consequences for whatever his actions are now in his adult life. >> are you going home? >> yes. >> huh? >> i hope so. >> you hope so? >> i've been hanging in. i've been praying every day, reading the bible every day. >> what's your p.o. saying? >> i don't know. >> did they give you a recommendation? >> no, but i think it will be fair if she just gave me and my brother one more chance, but

anything but boy school placement and lake county jail. >> call your first witness. >> judge, i would call kenneth and kentrell's mother to the stand. >> the chances are much greater now that their mother appears in court. there are no juries in the juvenile system. the judge has the final say on what's best for kids and the community. >> are you able to take ken and kentrell home with you today and provide the oversight and support they would need if they were to be released today? >> yes. >> okay. >> tell us how would you be able to provide the structure to your sons so they wouldn't get into any more trouble. >> one, i'm going keep them in the house because i don't want to see them out in the streets

and i don't want them to get hurt, i don't want them to do the wrong things. i've been trying to teach them, but they goes out in the streets and they listen to their friends and they get in trouble. but i want them to come home because their brothers and sisters miss them, too. >> anything else you'd like to say? >> no. >> miss ghantt, what are you going do differently? he's had four referrals to the juvenile court this year alone. >> i'm going to take control over them. >> how are you going do that? >> i'm going to be a harder parent. >> so you don't have any plan in action for it to change. you just think it's going to change. >> no, i know it's going to change. >> well, what is the plan in action. >> i'm going to put my foot down. >> so you didn't before? you just let them do what they wanted to do before? >> no, i didn't pretty much let them do anything they want to do. i tell them to do the right thing, but they take it upon themselves to do what they wants

to do when they're outside my house, but when they're in my house they do what i tell them to do. >> kenneth defies you. >> sometimes. >> i have no further questions. >> the probation department is recommending that they remain detained and be ordered to complete a psychological evaluation. because also in the neighborhood i've talked to mom about this, a lot of gang activity on the street that they live on, and i believe that they're affiliated with the gangs. a lot of drug activity as well. i've discussed that with her, so i strongly recommend they remain detained pending the psychological evaluations. >> mrs. deucik, anything else? >> yes, judge. regarding kentrell, the state would definitely concur with mr. smith's recommendation. he's a very dangerous person and he needs to remain detained. as far as mr. ghantt, the state also feels he's a dangerous person and i think that the court cannot take the chance that he may cause another person harm and he needs to remain detained as a danger to the

community also. >> judge, we agree with the psychological evaluation component of the recommendation, but i would like the opportunity to at least argue that they should no longer be detained while the case is pending. >> the decision is not an easy one for the judge and answers won't come overnight. services need to be ordered, placement options explored and ultimately she must decide if it's in everyone's best interest to send the boys home while all this is in motion. >> well, today, of course, the court will order that both boys have a psychological evaluation. i know, kenneth, you want to leave and i know the letter you wrote to the court about your girlfriend having a baby soon. i know you would like to be here as you told me in the letter. i'd like to give you a break. in light that this is the sixth referral in the court for 2008 the court will order that you may remain detained that you may be a danger to yourself and the community. the court order that he be detained pending his next

hearing because this is his fourth referral to the court and these are serious charges and for those reasons the court may find that he's a danger to himself and to the community and they both remain detained as the next hearing is september5th. this hearing is adjourned. thank you. >> i don't like anybody to be in pain, certainly not kids. i love them. i've been doing this job for 26 years and the work is heartbreaking, but there is no more work that's more important than the work in a juvenile court.

now since we were in court several weeks ago, what has happened? >> several weeks ago we ordered

a psychological evaluation to be completed. both of those evaluations were completed. with cantrell, we decided at this time in the best interest of the community and for himself that he be placed in a residential treatment facility. >> with respect now, to kenneth, why don't you tell us about your recommendations. >> we also agreed that he needs residential placement to meet his needs. >> you're not recommending that they go home with their mother? >> not at this time. >> that's all i have, judge. >> all right. >> i have no further questions. >> did you want to speak? you want to try? i can ask you the questions pretty simply. judge, i'd call the mother

briefly, just for a couple quick questions. >> now, you understand that there's a recommendation that both of your sons be placed in a residential placement for the purpose of receiving a variety of services and educational tools and things like that. >> yes. >> what did you want to say with respect to those options? do you think your kids can come home with you today? or should they -- >> it's for the best. i want them to come home, but if they need help, i agree with that. >> you just will leave it to the court to decide? >> yes. >> thank you, mrs. gann. you may have a seat back there. >> judge, there's no argument

that cantrell needs some type of therapeutic placement. the psychological evaluation shows that cantrell has some significant mental health needs. my problem with kenneth is that he's committed numerous acts of delinquency. that's what indiana boys school is meant to address. but then you factor in that he's had counseling provided to him. and he hasn't been terribly amenable to the counseling. he has a track record, and the track record isn't very good at this point. it's a serious matter for the court to decide it's going to invest itself in a child to the extent that this county and this court is being asked to invest themself in kenneth, and i don't see that there's going to be a lot of bang for our buck, to be perfectly honest. i think he's a dangerous person. i think he should be committed to indiana boys school. >> well, i would agree that i

think indiana boys school can address a lot of the issues that kenneth is facing. >> no. >> but 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 cantrell. the state and the taxpayers are going to pay, whether we send them to the department of correction or we send them to placement. and maybe we won't get the bang for the buck, as you've described it, but i'm going to still put my faith in the juvenile court system and that i think that we can do and do a better job with kids than the adult system can do and going to jail's going to do for him. i would love nothing more than to send both boys home to you, mrs. gann. that would be the ideal thing to do. but i think you as a mom, which is why you're crying your heart out there right now, knows that that's not the right thing right now. kenneth is on the verge of doing

something horrible in his life and maybe taking him away from you forever. and maybe if we hold his hand and help him turn that corner he'll be able to do that. what i'm going to do is make him a ward of the court and order three be placed appropriately. i will set his matter for review in three months, in any event. and as it relates to cantrell, i think this is a young man that the juvenile court system was designed for in some respects. i couldn't let him walk away until we get him to a point where he is at least literal and can function in some type of a job. so today the court is going to make him a ward of the court and order him be placed at idtd. >> [ bleep ]. >> man. >> [ bleep ].

>> they don't care about us, man. >> i ain't no ward of no state, man. [ bleep ]. >> this is bull [ bleep ], man. this is [ bleep ] [ crying ] >> i can't go now. >> i really, truly feel that this was the time for us to intervene, and's sort of like a now or never situation for them. they're either going to get the help now or they're never going to get the help. >> god dang. damn, man.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> tattooed the whites of my eyes. two inmates resort to drastic action to stand out among their peers. >> and i'll bet you there's no one in the world that has the same color eyes as i do. >> and after 19 years in prison, a new courtroom gives another inmate a chance to go home. >> i can't do a life sentence for something i didn't do. >> but his freedom is still in question. >>