I have had personal experience, as well as friends and  family going, or still going through it, children being given long, Camp, TYCJ and TDCJ sentences. The ones that make the "fat" DAs. That pay institutions to stay open. These kids,  are being trained,  to rely on being locked up,  so once they get outside the system, they can't make it on their own. Admittedly, profiling these guys, does not help.  People are judgmental. They don't want an ex con around them, much less give them a job.  Or any help whatsoever. 

My son Anthony, is just one fallout, of the system, as it is now. 

His story:  Anthony was a victim of divorce parents. Namely me, his father was much more interested in drugs.  As a single mom, I battled having 2 or 3 jobs. in that time I was not there.  My sons were latch key kids. I didn't notice, who, the kids were having around them.  Unfortuanately, there were other latchkey babies. They all decided, they were all each others support system. It would have been great, if that had of been in the good sense. As their numbers grew ...they realized that they didnt ....get bullied, taken ladvantage of, mostly ...they weren't alone. Short story, shorter, they found courage, to do things, they ordinarily wouldn't do.  In my  sons case,  The kids decided, the people at the school were mean, so they decided to vandalize the school.  This is the first time any of them got into trouble. They were sent to juvy. It would have been great if they had stopped there. Thr kids in Juvy had already graduated from kids just messing around.  Made them look like babies.  Because they had worse stuff.  if you have kids at all you know that is THE challenge.  No matter how big the kid.  They can do you one better. They are listening, with their ears perked up. When they leave Juvy, they've each learned a new skill ...they are eager to try.  Me, I have no idea what is in their mind, I ban him from the other kids.  Thinking, that's ...that. Again, the challenge is even greater, with even more input from the system. They realize they can and will hide crime. But they aren't slick enough yet.  Anthony went into TYC at 9 years old. My silly daredevil baby, branded a criminal. He put well over the year and half sentence, he turned into a teen ager in there because of a point system ...that was never meant to be met.  After all, they represented money to TYC. For every bed filled they recieved an allowance. If not for a group of women, lobbyist, getting a bill passed.  Anthony would have walked  out of there, by the token of,  he was too old to be there.  Do you think anyone, tried to help this lost kid after he had been hurt and torn down as a person.  I know, many of you, have heard about the making of a soldier.  Do you know what the major difference is between incarceration and being a soldier? They actually were trying, misguidedly, to make a better person, a more efficient person.  These institutions, hold the ones, everyone else threw out. Because they didn't "meet" everyone's "standards". They became the systems "piggybank" ...and general "garbage". Their excuse, "They didn't learn their lesson" When were they supposed to learn it? When a guard ...that probably did worse, ......but didn't get caught, was kicking them in the face ...and telling them weren't worth anything? Maybe when they were trying to find a job, any job, ...that would put food on the table, clothes on their back. A roof over their head? They were told "...we can't hire you, you have a record. What "job" was left? The one that put them, where were they were in the first place. You say " Well ...they didnt learn their lesson."  Ok, let's just hide them from society letting "institutions" bilk the government and the people's family out of a few hundred billion. You beleive ....you have no power.  You DO have power,  in the masses of people,  that want it to END.  ANTHONY, my son, went to a little boy PLAYING army with his brother.  To something the people wanted to "throw" away. "Toss them" just like the garbage. Do you think they woke up one day,   when they were bored with their G.I. Joe's or Barbie's, and said I Want To Be Criminal??? I'm saying the only people that can change the "struggle", are the "strugglers" put in perspective US. This is a baby step signing this petition. How many baby steps did our babies have to take, before they were walking, running, EXCELLING.  Take this baby step for me.  Lets make the biggest marathon in the world!  WE CAN. starts with your John Henry, ....you know him right? Google does:)