| Wednesday, November 14, 2007 |
| Do the crime, do the time? |
 This post is part of my on going saga called life, recently dramatized by a home burglary. Yes, the mug shot that I posted a few days ago was that of my neighbor. The kid next door who just turned 18. Of course I feel hurt and betrayed above all, that he busted our trust and allowed my home to be used for gansta purposes.
Angry especially at the kids who are now sitting in jail that I do not know. Both Gon and myself could care less and are in the mindset of pleading with their judge to give them a full 20 years. But this neighbor kid, we're quite torn on what we should do.
Let's call this young man Jay from now on, shall we? Well, if you look closer at his mug shot there you may see that he is wearing hearing aids. See, Jay was born almost completely deaf and even with these hearing aids - cannot hear clearly nor the way that normal folks like us do.
A little more complicated, but important just the same is that the State of Georgia does not have many, if any programs for the hearing impaired. Those that are found in the yellow pages don't accept welfare, medicaid or children from indigent families. So basically Jay here has had nothing but crap from his entire life of education, social networking, girlie friends, state of coolness, etc. You get the feeling.
Now Jays Daddy suffered from depression and committed suicide when Jay was just two. The Father Figure thing wasn't happening nor was anyone even close to filling that role for this young man. Grandpa did even recently by buying Jay a new truck. Also buying Jay tuition to a nearby tech college where Jay attended for about 30 minutes. Grandma's been around too, now frantically trying to help Jay with an attorney, medicaid and SSI benefits to help him rehab.
Yes, I said rehab. It isn't so surprising I suppose that a young 18 year old kid could be a staggering alcoholic. But he is and has been for the last two years. Not the typical party on and catch the buzz type of alcohol use - but the drown your sorrows until you pass out and make the world go away type.
The kid needs to be accountable. The kid needs to make amends and regain trust. He needs rehabilitation and behavioral/physical doctor care.
Correction with direction.
But does he need to be marked as a felon? Slammed away for 20 years? Only to be let out with no more than he went in with.
See, that's the dilemma. First court date is Monday morning and we have to go. We'll have to testify, say something... make a suggestion. The kid has pleaded and said countlessly that he is now sorry.
Yet at the same time I'm here wondering who the victim in all this really is? What should we say or do?Labels: Do You Have Issues? |
Stumble It!
.......posted by Margaret @ 8:50 PM   |
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| 7 Comments: |
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Thank you for the greetings
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You really are caught in a rough spot. Is Jay being tried equally with the other boys, or does he have his own lawyer/advocate? If he has his own lawyer, you may have a better chance of giving him some leniency. As for him saying he's sorry, ask yourself how genuine that is. Is there a chance for him to learn from this, to recover from drinking? If so, and if you think the others influenced his actions in this burglary, then you may want to see what can be done to help him.
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Jay will be tried separately and has been assigned his own public defender.
The other thugs - Jays peers who he's trying to be "cool" for - turns out this case broke a few other cases of burglary in the area and a little gangsta druggie scene.
Evidence doesn't show Jay involved in the other burglaries or drugs - but, he was a follower in this gang. Hung with them and fought with them.
That's the thing, if he gets out he can't get out of the gang without getting beat within an inch of his life. It seems to be a small gang and so far - with the help of neighbors and the police - we're breaking the gang up successfully.
But... what if, as so often happens - the overcrowded jail lets them out only after a year or so? They need correction with direction also else we're back to stage one here in this community.
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From the tone of your post, I think your heart is already telling you what to do.....i.e. justice but with grace.
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Tough situation. You have to wonder if a long jail time is the answer or would something else be better. Justice is blind, but not deaf or dumb. Well maybe, someof the jury verdicts I have seen make me wonder about our peers.
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look. he's 18 and an adult. he knew what he was doing was both wrong and illegal.
when you play with fire you get burned, so, don't feel so sorry for him just because you know him. all that says to me is that he betrayed your trust as a neighbor and a human being.
hoodlums like this BELONG in jail, plain and simple. I refuse to empathize because he has a handicap. do the crime, do the time.
besides, jail is the one place he could be right now where he'll get 1)sober 2)help for his hearing problem and 3)educated. yes, they offer apprenticeships and classes in American prisons.
it seems not only clear, but OBVIOUS to me that jail time will be the best thing for him--
--AND the community you live in.
hard stance, yes, but that's how I see it.
one other thing, BTW...
... I've had a couple of minor run-ins with the law when I was young and still stupid. this included 2 months house arrest (yeah, the ankle bracelt deal) and a small amount of jail time in County (for a DUI). did it suck?
yes.
was is appropriate?
absolutely.
I got what was coming to me, maybe even a bit less than I deserved.
I harbored ill feelings about it at the time, but as I grew older and grew UP, I realized I had been not only wrong, but a danger to society, to whom I had to pay my debt.
it made me a better person -more than that, a better citizen- in the long run.
hopefully it'll happen that way for this "Jay".
but, that's gonna be HIS choice.
B-|
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Those that are found in the yellow pages don't accept welfare, medicaid or children from indigent families.
Wow, that is so messed up!
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Thank you for the greetings