The
Giddings State School for Violent Juvenile Offenders is the
high security facility for teenagers who are unable to control
sudden rage and impulsive violence. Most of their crimes are
swift and brutal. They have been convicted of aggravated assault,
rape, attempted murder and murder.
Giddings
is an emerald green campus surrounded by tall fences and razor
wire. It is home to over 300 young men 11 to 17 years of age
who have killed or maimed other human beings.
Most of these boys were physically and emotionally abused
since birth; many have been chemically addicted since they
were toddlers; almost all have neurologic damage from drugs
and trauma.
Texas
has the largest prison industry in the nation, but 40% of
the Giddings inmates come back into the community by the time
they are 21.
Alfonso
was hired to bring a tool and a treatment to Giddings that
could give these kids one last chance to learn how to control
their rage. The treatment Dr. Peniston
had used to treat alcoholism and Post Truamatic Stress Disorder
in war veterans held promise for violent youth with drug habits.
Alfonso's job was to to conduct a pilot study.
But it was tough getting started.
The
kids weren't forced to participate. To get a first group to
volunteer, Alfonso had to first recruit the most dangerous
kid on campus, a 16-year-old who had already sent eight staff
workers to the hospital.....
