PrimeTime - Juvenile Prisons

ABC News PrimeTime - Juvenile Corrections
Adobe Mountain School, Phoenix, Arizona

Chris Cuomo
Eric M. Strauss
Mark Stanoch

ABC News

(horn music)

>> Meet the kids next door

(doors slam)

who are now behind bars.

>> I assaulted someone with a knife.

>> Baby-faced kids with
adult-sized wrap sheets.

Call it brat camp in
the extreme, except this

one's got separation cells and kids

under constant surveillance.

For the first time,
cameras have been let in.

Tonight, you'll see a private world

of sexuality.

>> That's the thing here,
I'm gay for the stay.

That' the motto here.

>> Was your pregnancy
kind of off limits, now?

>> No.

>> Change.

Who loves you?

>> I don't know.

>> Do you love you?

>> No.

>> And a secret so painful

she can barely say it out loud.

>> I'm not going to tell
you, so might as well

just give up on trying to guess.

>> But in the strangest of places,

you'll also see hope.

>> I want to make something of myself.

>> Tonight, an update.

Where they are now.

The Lost Children Behind Bars.

And now, Chris Cuomo.

>> Welcome.

Tonight, I'm outside New York's
notorious Rikers Island Jail

and these foreboding signs say it all.

This is the kind of place the
kids you are about to meet

could wind up, that is, if
their juvenile corrections

experience doesn't set them straight.

Cameras are rarely allows inside

the facilities you'll visit.

Now they may be called
schools, but they share a lot

in common with adult prisons.

And yet, these places in
Arizona you're about to enter

may be the last and best
chance for kids there.

So come and meet some kids who look like

they could be growing up on your street,

or even in your house.

How did they end up behind barbed wire?

For some, the corrections experience

could be a new beginning.

For others, it could be
the beginning of the end.

(woman mutters)

>> Pull them up.

Pull them up!

>> I'm Zar.

13, was charged in a drive-by shooting.

>> Where's your canteen?

>> They did not give it to me.

>> Why?
>> I don't know.

My name is Ashley, I'm 16.

I was charged with disorderly conduct.

>> My name is Jesse, age 17.

Committed offense,
manslaughter, felony two.

>> My name is Jerilyn,
I'm 17 and I am here for,

wait.

>> I'll close the door.

Oh, okay.

>> These kids start out like any child,

bright, loving, wanting to please.

But somewhere along the
line, something goes wrong.

But as you'll see, there's more to them

than meets the eye.

100,000 kids like this
are currently locked up

somewhere in the United States.

>> You're not going to (mutters), are you?

>> No.

>> All in their teens, many nearing 18.

For these kids, this is the
last stop and their last chance.

Welcome to Arizona's Department
of Juvenile Corrections.

The bleak surroundings say it all.

The routine is like any jail.

Background checks, metal detectors,

tension in the air.

>> If you can't handle
it, you will be (mutters).

>> That's why I told you guys.

>> 300 boys at the Adobe Mountain School,

80 girls across the yard
at the Black Canyon School

and just as many stories.

Primetime spent nearly 6
months following several kids

as they wound their way in and out

of what are called Arizona's safe schools.

High security to keep the kids safe inside

and also, to keep them from getting out.

Even though there is razor
wire, pat downs, and cell doors,

there is opportunity here, even hope.

>> Good morning, classroom.

>> Good morning, Jeff.

>> The average stay here is 6 months.

Staff struggle daily with
the question of whether a kid

can be fixed.

Kids who do bad things, often
for reasons that are tough

to understand.

Kids like Conrad.

(upbeat music)

>> What's that, don't like the way I work?

Because I'm really hyper?

>> My name is Connor.

I'm 16.

I was found with possession
of paraphernalia.

>> The average kid in
here has been arrested

eight times and Conrad is no exception.

On the surface, he looks like a cute kid,

like Opie from Mayberry, but he isn't.

What's the worst thing you've ever done?

>> Oh, I assaulted someone with a knife.

He made me mad, so I hurt him.

>> Conrad came here just under 70 pounds,

and the boy's wrap sheet
is taller than he is.

He's been banned from all
the mainstream schools

in the state of Arizona
because of numerous fights,

thefts, weapon's charges,
drugs, and alcohol.

What the record leaves out,
though, is the most important

question with all the kids here, why?

>> I got hooked on drugs,
doing drugs with my mom.

I came back out here and
they just tore my life up.

I grew up being abused
physically and emotionally

and mentally abused by my mom.

And now, ever since I came
out to Arizona, I've been

a very angry, angry kid.

>> Many kids make
claims, but state records

show Conrad's mother plead
no contest to child cruelty

and Conrad was taken into state custody

for stints when just a child.

Conrad says he wants to
change, but feels he can't.

And as you'll see later, there
may be a reason for that.

>> I'm a good person, I
just make bad choices.

>> Stand by your doors please, ladies.

>> This is a state facility for girls

in the state of Arizona.

>> The girls are housed across campus.

According to Suzanne LaRoux,
their superintendent,

they present unique challenges.

>> Our girls here, they're survivors,

just a lot of, you know,

family abuse, incest, molestation,

drug abuse, parents are
not available to them.

Parents are locked up themselves.

These are children.

>> For what?

I'm not eating (mutters).

>> You're going to practice.

>> Ashley is the face of an angry child.

Her fury greets all who come near,

but in reality, Ashley's anger
is the flip side of pain.

(loud knocking)

On this morning, Ashley
cuts her head on her bunk

waking up, but she fights
any medical treatment.

>> You may need a little
stitches in there.

>> I am not getting stitches.
>> All right.

>> Hell no!

>> You seem very angry.

>> Yeah.

>> So what's it like inside there, dealing

with all the anger?

>> I'm like a time bomb.

>> Like many here, it almost seems as if

Ashley were born into pain.

96% of the kids have
substance abuse problems.

60% have criminal
histories in their family.

Both are true for this teen.

>> My dad was smoking
meth and smoking weed

and he'd just leave it laying around

and it was there, and
I was like, "Screw it,

"I'm going to get high."

>> Still worse, Ashley
claims she was molested.

She won't say by whom, but
she says this drove her

delinquency, fighting and skipping school.

How often were you getting in trouble

at your peak of performance?

>> Every day.

I'd steal or I'd fight.

I'd have the cops called on my every day.

>> Ashley is filled
with intense self-hate.

She's being treated with a mix of therapy

and antidepressants.

Throughout her life, she's
tried to kill herself

seven times.

>> A lot of the times, I did
it because I wanted to die,

but I did it sometimes

just because I wanted to
see how far I could go

before I actually sent
myself to the hospital.

>> She's playing a dangerous game

to get the attention of her mother,

the person who she said
has hurt her the most

and yet, whose love she most craves.

There are daily group
sessions like this here,

allowing kids to open up
and see they're not alone

as victims.

>> Being here, it gives
me someone to talk to,

like councilors, psyches,

and if I was on the outs,
I wouldn't have that.

>> Ashley has taken to writing pain away,

especially in letters to mom.

>> I told her that I hated her

and I could care less

what happened to her,

and she's not my mother,
she's just the person

that gave birth to me.

>> Who loves you?

>> I don't know.

So many people in my family have told me

that they hate me and they
don't want me around them.

It's just, even when they
do tell me they love me,

I find it hard to believe, so.

>> Do you love you?

>> No.

(tense music)

>> Up next,

a trip to the most dangerous unit

in juvenile jail.

>> I can see why you'd be
anxious to get out of this place.

(Jesse laughs)

No offense.

>> Our guide, the teenage killer

in the cell nextdoor
and his chilling story

(gun fires)

of how he got there

when The Lost Children
Behind Bars returns.

Primetime returns.

Once again, Chris Cuomo.

(electric guitar music)

>> Arizona Juvenile
Correction system is set up

to be part prison, part school.

>> Good morning, sir!

>> You want to be powerful,
no physical contact.

>> You could be here for two years,

you could be here

for three months, it's on you.

>> It's a pretty place during the day,

but pretty formidable at night.

(electric guitar music)

A feeling that comes quickly
when you're on the inside.

>> I'll show you where
you're going to stay tonight.

>> My home with the boys is Crossroads,

the unit for violent offenders.

Next to the cell I'll
experience is 17-year-old Jesse.

>> You got two blankets, two sheets,

your state shirt, state shorts,
state pants, state socks.

>> I can see why you'd be
anxious to get out of this place.

(Jesse laughs)
>> No offense,

Mr. Superintendent.

Many here regard Jesse as the
school's real success story.

>> This is when the governor came.

I was the president of the
student council at the time.

This is some of my members.

(siren wails)

>> But Jesse has also
been here the longest.

Since he was 15 with a
horrific act in his past.

What was the scariest moment for you?

>> The night I shot Alexis.

(man speaks)

>> Jesse's older brother
was hosting a party

and Jesse's buddy, 19-year-old
Alexis Acosta was there.

For some reason, Jesse says
he wanted to impress Alexis,

so he went to his brother's closet.

>> I just turned, cocked it, and fired.

>> Jesse said he grabbed what he thought

was an unloaded shotgun.

(gun fires)

>> I expected to hear a
click and then show it off

as a cool little thing,

but it was,

it was loaded.

>> Were you in complete
control of your faculties?

>> Yes, I was.

I wasn't drunk or anything.

They gave me a Breathalyzer test onsite.

(man speaks)

>> Jesse swears it was
all a terrible mistake

and the judge agreed.

That's why he wasn't tried
as an adult for murder.

>> There is no bringing Alexis back.

He has been added to
my motivation to become

a greater person so I can look up one day

and say, "Alexis, this is for you.

"I did this for you."

(percussive music)

>> He spent some time, shot hoops

before lights out,

and activity that allows
kids supervised play

to see if they're learning to get along.

Then we joked about my old-school skills.

Last second, I pulled it back,

acquiring even more athleticism.

>> Very true.

>> It's interesting to meet
a kid who has killed someone

while at the same time,

seems like the ideal son.

So the boys here in Crossroads Unit,

(boys sing)

which is the violent offenders welcome me

by making noise here after lights out.

It's 5:45 a.m.

I had a miserable night,
thanks to my cement bed

and constant bed checks
by flashlight happy guards

who say a kid can kill
himself in just minutes.

A lesson they learned the hard way.

Just two years ago, three
kids committed suicide

right here in the space of several months.

Federal investigators
found widespread sexual

and physical abuse
throughout both the boys

and girls schools, so in
Arizona, there are new people

in charge and a new mandate,

treat these kids like kids,
not hardened criminals.

>> Do you believe that
corrections with respect

to juveniles is where you want it to be?

>> No, but we're on the right track.

>> Last year, Arizona's governor

cleaned house and
appointed 30-year veteran

Mike Brannon to oversee a massive overhaul

of the state's juvenile
corrections system.

>> We make sure that the
kids can't hurt themselves

and hurt other people while we figure out

how to reach inside and
help that child deal with

whatever it is that's his or hers issues.

We can and do make a
difference in the kids who can

and will change.

>> Maybe the biggest
difference between a prison

and one of these schools deals
with what happens in here.

In jail, this would be called the cell

and you'd spend between 20
and 23 hours a day in here

being punished, confined.

This place works on the opposite idea.

It is all about incarceration
without confinement.

>> Tell me this, why would
I pick desert regions

for us to paint?

>> Because we live in the desert?

>> Amen, bro.

Okay, good job.

>> One of the unique ways this schools

reaches these kids is
its teaching methods.

>> All right, I just want
to talk about elevation

and latitude.

>> For teenage boys, math
is taught using cards.

>> So it's one whole!

>> Most of these kids have grown up

being embarrassed by learning disabilities

and poor performance at school.

>> There you go.

>> This guy's a good teacher.

>> So with kids like Conrad, education

is all about confidence.

>> The staff, they don't
treat me like I'm crap.

>> My name's Casey.

I'm 16 years old.

My charges were possession of mariajuana,

paraphernalia and aggravated assault

and violation of probation.

That's all.

>> Over at the girl's facility,

16-year-old Casey is
preparing for a very different

type of education.

She is seven months pregnant when we meet,

a child about to have a child.

Behind the smile and the belly,

a thief who looked for trouble.

>> Everybody thought I
was so innocent and sweet.

"Oh, look at her.

"She's so cute."

And I just look at them
like, "Yeah, you better

watch your stuff, you know?"

>> Casey's record show
abuse by her convict father

and years in protective custody.

And although the father of her baby

is a teenager too, somehow Casey sees this

as a chance for a new beginning.

>> If I wasn't pregnant,
I would be fighting.

I wouldn't care.

I would not care,

but now I actually care and I need to do

what I need to do, and
I'm going to get out

and I'm going to be a good mom.

>> But until she gets out,
Casey will have to deal

with life on the inside,
which can be stressful

in more ways than one.

>> Up next, the rules of attraction.

>> Please be appropriate in there.

>> When kids are desperate for any kind

of love and affection.

>> And they bet their snacks.

"Oh, I'll turn her gay,
I'll turn her gay,"

and it's a game to them.

>> When the Lost Children
Behind Bars returns.

We continue with the Lost
Children Behind Bars.

Now, Christ Cuomo.

>> Come on, ladies.

You guys should be up and ready.

>> Come on Flora, Ashley, let's go!

>> Juvenile correction isn't just about

controlling violence.

>> Take it out quietly.
>> No talking.

>> It's also about controlling emotions.

A third of the kids
here suffer from mental

or emotional problems.

Sometimes, they can be
treated with medicine,

sometimes therapy.

And for the girls who
are victims of abuse,

sometimes they find
ways to help each other.

In the girls' facility, there
are 80 teens locked together

without any boys.

It's a combustible
mixture fraught with peril

and sometimes, passion.

>> A lot of the females in here are gay.

>> They'll have a different
girlfriend every week,

every other day.

>> And that's something
that you think they only do

because they're here?

>> Yeah.

That's the thing here,
"I'm gay for the stay."

>> This behavior is part
of life in adult prison,

but it seems different
in the juvenile world.

Staff at the boy's facility
say it's not an issue

and no boys said otherwise.

But with the girls at
this Arizona facility

and elsewhere, part of the
culture is what they call

girlfriend drama.

Girlfriend drama?

>> Yes.

A lot of girls get jealous of other girls

and they want to start a fight.

>> They'll make comments
when you walk by like,

"Damn, look at that ass."

>> Officially, it is forbidden.

>> Please be appropriate in there, okay?

I don't want any problems.

No physical contact.

>> But councilor James Abercrombie

admits the behavior is
a common manifestation

of emotional neediness.

>> It's about half of the
girls that are in here.

What I see that is

is people that have

a distorted view of
what a relationship is.

>> For some of them, finding a girlfriend

is creating a kind of substitute family.

>> The physical, sometimes
it makes them feel loved.

>> None of the girls we spoke to

said they were part of this subculture,

but all acknowledged its
presence and potential pitfalls.

Well, you're pregnant,

so are you kind of off limits now?

>> No, doesn't matter if you're pregnant,

doesn't matter anything.

They're going to try to get you.

They will try, and try, and try

until the day you leave.

(acoustic guitar music)

>> On this night, I stay
in the girl's facility.

It's now bedtime.

All the girls have quieted down.

There was this long
ritual of people saying,

"Goodnight, I love you,
goodnight, goodnight."

They're locked in and monitored constantly

throughout the night.

Privacy is not an option in
this fragile environment.

(electric guitar music)

Back in the boy's section,
Conrad is bouncing off the walls.

He simply cannot control his emotions.

He was finally diagnosed with bipolar

and Attention Deficit Disorders,

and then there was a
new form of treatment.

>> It's a mood stabilizer
that they have me on.

>> The staff has identified
an expensive drug

called Trileptal that
shows signs of helping.

His family says Conrad
finally seems under control.

>> We had a good visit.

He was real,

I don't know how to say it.

>> Nice, gentle.

>> Gentle, yeah.

He's calmed down a whole lot.

The medicine makes a
big difference for him.

>> This is home for Conrad,

where he'll return when he gets out.

That's his step-mom.

Remember, Conrad had major
problems with his birth mother.

Still, even with a more stable home life,

when Conrad was released previously,

his parents couldn't afford
to keep up his prescription

and insurance wouldn't pay.

Conrad quickly spun out of control,

ending up back in his
cell for the third time.

>> With his medication, I think
he can survive in a normal

lifestyle, but honestly,

without it, I don't think he can.

>> We have some kids still in separation.

>> For Conrad and other kids who often

cannot control themselves,
violence is bound to occur,

and when it does, the
result is separation.

The closest thing here
to solitary confinement.

>> So with separation,
they're going to be here

because all other
interventions haven't worked.

You went after him because you were angry.

Nerite Freelander runs the unit.

It's the last resort
when these volatile kids

are a danger to others or even themselves.

>> They will do anything they
can to self-injurious behavior.

>> To prevent suicide, the rooms contain

just a bed and a toilet
and kids are often stripped

of their clothes.

>> He takes his clothes and rips them off

and sometimes, he tried to hang
himself on the door hinges,

so the psychologist
ordered for his clothes

to be removed from there.

>> So you sit here and you
watch the kid on the monitor?

>> We watch kids on the monitor.

We also watch the kids in the hallways

because it takes two to
five minutes for a youth

to actually hang themselves.

Wasn't it the staff that you pushed too?

>> But separation isn't about isolation

or punishment.

Boys and girls are sent there
for psychological evaluation

and to do conflict resolution,

to teach them how not to be violent.

>> We're trying to teach them the skills

to remove themselves instead
of going and punching

Frankie in the face, what could
you have done differently?

Because if you don't teach them the skill,

they're not going to
have it when they get out

on the outside.

(acoustic guitar music)

>> When you got put in three years ago,

when it all began, who was that person?

>> Very annoying, rowdy girl.

I would never listen

to staff, I was always
getting in trouble somehow.

>> Jerilyn, whose sweetness hides

a chilling secret has
visited separation six times

for fighting in her facility,

but non in the past year.

>> I'm tired of getting in trouble.

It's time for a change,

it's time to move on.

>> She has an extensive
record of offenses,

including trespass, disorderly conduct,

smoking pot, and habitual truancy.

But now, after a three-year sentence,

she's just four days until freedom.

>> This is your favorite
place here, right?

>> Yeah, it's like my sanctuary.

I don't know, just being outside in nature

and taking care of something that grows

and I just love it.

>> Yesterday, you said
that you kind of saw

yourself going through a
transformation like a plant

since you've been here.

>> I was a seed and now I'm a flower.

>> But Jerilyn was sent here

for more than just mischief.

There is something else,
something she has hidden

from all the other girls.

So when the girls say, "Why are you here?"

What do you say?

>> I'm not going to tell
you, so might as well

just give up on trying to guess.

>> What is Jerilyn's big secret

when Primetime continues.

>> When Primetime returns.

A young girl finally tells our cameras

her shocking secret, the
one she's kept hidden

from the other inmates
for the past three years.

>> I'm here for.

Wait.

(acoustic guitar music)

>> Primetime continues after this

from our ABC stations.

The Lost Children Behind Bars continues.

>> When these kids leave Arizona's

Department of Corrections,
they may leave behind

bars, bells, and locks,

but they face invisible
obstacles on the outside.

Troubled families, old friends, and often,

profoundly painful memories.

>> For me, it's been a big chance.

Like, it changed my
life completely around.

I did a whole 360.

>> After three years of intensive therapy

and life on the inside,
Jerilyn is moving on.

She's just had her final
meeting with the superintendent

review board.

>> I always had the look,

like the fear in the
back of my head saying

I'm not leaving.

But I've come this far

and at my board, they had
nothing but nice things to say.

And it's like, whoa.

>> Her sentence was longer than most

and for good reason.

Though she's been through so much,

she's still so young.

>> I don't want to grow up,

I don't want to become an adult.

I want to be home.

I kind of missed out three
years of my teenage life

being locked up,

and that sucks.

(tense music)

>> Jerilyn was just six years old

when she was molested by
her mother's boyfriend.

>> I got involved with some
guy that I thought I knew,

but he molested her.

>> How long had it been going on?

>> It was a short time.

It was

about a month.

>> Imagine a month of molestation.

The damage was profound.

Young Jerilyn lost her innocence

and when still just a child, began a cycle

of petty crime, substance
abuse, and truancy.

>> Started doing drugs,
meeting different people,

doing alcohol, staying
up late, not coming home.

(man mutters)

>> But then, Jerilyn's
behavior turned darker.

At just 13, she committed
an almost unthinkable act.

>> I heard the kids in
the backroom playing.

Then, all the sudden a door shut.

I opened the door and there
they was, laying in the corner.

>> I'm Jerilyn, I'm 17 and I'm
here for child molestation.

I had a sexual encounter
with my 6-year-old nephew

at the time.

>> Jerilyn may never fully understand

why she did what she did.

After years of therapy,
she merely seems to parrot

the professionals.

>> I was only thinking about myself

and my wants and needs and desires.

I was just focused on hurting them

and to hurt myself, too.

Five pills.

>> Okay.
>> I need six.

>> I thought I had it for you right here.

>> Like most of these kids,

Jerilyn will need medication and therapy

for years to come.

She will be returning to a hard life

in a cramped trailer with
her mother, Sherylin.

>> I don't want to wreck the closet.

Don't worry.

They want us to have twin
beds, but I don't have

the money to buy twin beds,
and it's big enough for two.

I miss her so much.

We just hug each other and we fall asleep.

>> Sherylin has a severe heart problem

that makes keeping house
and working near impossible.

She's counting on Jerilyn to find a job

and help pay the $435 a month rent.

A lot of pressure for a young girl

still trying to figure herself out.

Ashley too is only days away
from her chance to go home.

Ashley has softened in just the short time

she's been here.

Now she's eager to discuss her emotions

and share letters and poems
she's addressed to others

but written for herself.

>> When you go back and
read what you have written,

what is that like for you?

>> It's hard because
it brings back memories

I don't really want to be brought back up.

>> Give it a go.

Let's see what you got.

Words written to the
father who abandoned her.

>> "You were someone who
was supposed to be there

"and supposed to care.

"Instead, you walked out of my life

"and never looked back.

"You tried to make contact,
but now I'm the one

"who turns away.

"I'm the one who has walked out

"and I can honestly say I'll
never come back in your life."

>> You going to send him that?

>> I don't have his address

and I don't talk to him, so I don't know.

>> Do you think that you're bad

or do you think that you're hurting?

>> I don't feel that I'm bad,

but I know that what I do is wrong

and most of the time, I
do it because I'm hurting.

>> Paint a picture for me of,

what would be the dream end to this?

>> To get out and not have to lead back.

>> From dream to reality,

her superintendent review
board, where Ashley

makes her case for freedom.

>> Before, I didn't really care

about what happened to me, but now,

being away from my family, I
know that they care about me

and they want me to just be successful.

>> Do you want to be successful?

>> Yeah.

>> For who?

>> For me.

>> For you.

>> But will she be able to succeed if she

goes back to a toxic home life?

Her only buffer will be the
love of her grandparents,

who have become her legal guardians.

Grandpa is there by her side.

Grandma's on the phone, offering support.

>> [Ashley's Grandma] Ashley can do it.

She's just got to have
the right kind of guidance

and somebody to show her what's right

and what's wrong and
what's expected of her.

>> For Ashley, the challenge
will be with her mother,

who lives just blocks
from her grandparents.

Ashley feels that her
mother has repeatedly

put the men in her life
before her children

and says her neglect has fueled
much of her pain and rage.

>> Tell her she don't have
to come because I don't

want her there.

>> She has a number of
issues surrounding mom

and neglect, abandonment issues.

Any child, when that connection
to the natural mother

isn't strong, there's some percussions.

>> Still, Ashley has
made a persuasive case

and a decision is rendered.

>> Well, I think you've
done a lot of changing,

a lot of growing,

and I wish you a lot of
success in the community

and we're going to release you.

(acoustic guitar music)

I'm going to conditionally release.

You're going to be on
parol and you're going

to leave Sunday.

>> I love you, grandma!

>> [Ashley's Grandmother]
I love you too, babe!

Miss you.

>> Don't cry, you're going to make me cry.

>> [Ashley's Grandmother]
Okay honey, well,

we'll be over there early
Sunday morning to get you.

>> Bring me some clothes, please.

>> [Ashley's Grandmother]
No, you're coming home

in your birthday suit.

(all laugh)

>> All right.

>> But for all the smiles,

the numbers paint a grim picture.

43% of these kids
eventually wind up back here

or in an adult prison.

>> I hope I don't see Ashley back here.

There is a very good chance
that Ashley will be back here.

>> It's Ashley's last night here

and she's excited to leave,

but she has no idea what
she'll face when she goes home.

(door slams)

(acoustic guitar music)

>> Up next, new beginnings.

For Casey, the final push
for a baby behind bars.

>> You're every little thing.

>> And for Ashley, home at last.

>> Oh, my bed!

>> But there's a call from her past

that leads to disaster.

Who's on the other end?

When the Last Children
Behind Bars continues.

Primetime continues.

Once again, Chris Cuomo.

(electric guitar music)

>> Our time with these
kids is about to come

to an end.

It's been quite a journey,
and now we flash forward

a full year since you last saw them,

and a lot as changed.

We begin with Casey.

As you remember, she dedicated
her time in corrections

preparing for this moment.

>> I'm going to be having a girl

and her name's going to be Emily Renee.

>> After eight hours of labor, Emily Renee

is born eight pounds
21 inches and healthy.

For Casey, she is the living hope

for a better future.

At first, the baby had to sleep
at her grandmother's house

while mom remained locked
in a cinder block cell

15 miles away.

>> That's her when she was about, oh,

a week old.

That's one of the ones
that were done in jail.

I see you smiling!

>> Today, Casey and
Emily Renee live together

and the teenage father is
also still in the picture.

And things are changing for the better

for Casey and her new family.

She's working, completing her GED

and plans to start college in the fall.

Like before, my problem was getting high,

and she's my high now.

I'm afraid if I get high or something,

I'll be, I can't take care of her,

so that's one of the reasons
why I've stayed clean

and I've done good,

and I don't know, she's
everything to me now.

>> For Jesse, the star of the program,

the last three years of his life

have been all about hope.

>> 911, what is your emergency?

>> Instead of taking away from this world,

instead of hurting, I am
now giving back and helping.

>> This was home for
Jesse until he turned 18.

85% of releases come this way.

It's called aging out of the facility.

And it's a moment Jesse has
waited for for a long time.

>> The moment I'm facing
the gate and I hear the call

for the gate to open and before me,

I see a horizon without
fences and I'm experiencing

freedom for the first
time in such a great while

that I fall to my knees and I begin to cry

because I don't remember what it's like,

Oh, after you!

I mean, losers first.

>> But for this standout
kid, reentry has gone well.

He visited me in New York City,

and this time, we were on my home court.

(upbeat music)

>> Oh yeah, I'm excited

just to be able to have

my freedom of thought

and to make my own decisions.

That's exciting.

>> You're not rushing
into anything, though?

>> No!

Trust me, I got my stuff organized.

Like, if I'm not ready, like,
I'm not going to have a kid

until near 30

because I want to make sure
that everything is ready,

that this kid can come into my life

and have everything that the child needs.

>> Everything is going
according to plan for Jesse.

He moved to Upstate New York
and is living with family

and now, working at a
sporting goods store.

He plans to start college in the spring,

but there is always that
inevitable question.

Why were you in jail, you know?

And I'm like, "Well, when I was 14,

"I was playing around with a gun

"and I shot and killed
someone I care for."

>> But you do have to
get past that, right?

Because you're already much
more than what you were

when you were 14

on one night, one set of decisions,

a lifetime worth of consequences.

>> I've been through the worst struggles

and I've made it, and
I've come out stronger

than I was before, so I need to use that

and move on.

(electric guitar music)

>> I was put on this earth for a reason.

It wasn't to be bad, it
was to do what I have to,

not go to jail.

>> But unfortunately, Conrad
would wind up in jail.

First came adult jail

and then adult court to
face outstanding charges

for breaking into cars.

Conrad claims he was just the lookout.

>> They shackled me, searched me,

and handcuffed me and put me in the van.

>> (mutters) versus Conrad.

>> His status as a juvenile can no longer

insulate him because he's now considered

a habitual offender.

From now on, he will
face adult prison time.

>> The difference between there and here

is there, they care for you
guys, trying to help you

put you back out in the community.

And here, they really don't
care what happens to you.

>> He's in a man's world now,

a reality that is sinking in.

>> Because if I go to prison
because of my size and stuff,

it would be easy for them to handle me

and I don't want that to happen.

>> All right sir, Mr.
(mutters), your part looks like,

>> Conrad has won one more chance.

After a week-long trial, the
jury found him not guilty.

(upbeat music)

He's now back home with his family,

trying to earn his GED and
staying out of trouble.

(girl screams)
He'll be 18 in September.

For all these kids, the key
is finding the right path.

And for Jerilyn, that meant
graduating from trade school.

>> I like doing stuff with my
hands, not sitting at a desk

behind a computer, being bored.

>> And despite some ups and downs,

she's been complying with
the rules of her parole.

>> Special recognization award for Tucson

Juvenile Parole and Resource Center,

so it's for continual
success in the community

and becoming a positive role model.

Jerilyn has moved home with her mother

who's been anxiously awaiting her return.

(water splashes)

They even have a community swimming pool

to escape the Arizona heat.

A place to dream about the future.

>> I'm going to try to
accomplish what I planned,

but in New York, I get a car,

get a nice education.

I want to go to college.

>> A lot of accomplish for a young woman,

especially while taking care of her sickly

unemployed mother.

Just 19 days from adulthood, Jerilyn hints

at her burden.

>> She's the mom, I'm the daughter.

I did the job of both of us

and it's just time for me to grow up

and take care of myself.

A fragile situation that soon gives way.

(phone beeps)

>> This is the police.

Can I help you?

(Jerilyn speaks)

>> 19 days later, a 2:00 a.m. phone call

to the police.

(siren wails)

>> Jerilyn?
>> Yes?

>> Sherilyn was arrested
for domestic violence,

seen here in court just last month.

And Jerilyn has been living with relatives

while mother and daughter
work on reconciling.

>> Good morning.

>> And for Ashley, one final wake-up call.

>> I didn't sleep.

>> You're good.
>> Okay!

(man laughs)
>> Good luck.

>> Oh, my bed!

>> At first, things go well.

Within days, there's even a
new boyfriend in the picture.

But then, an old demon resurfaces.

>> I got a call from someone

that I didn't really want to talk to.

>> Even with her new
love and her new chance,

harsh words from her three-time
convicted felon father,

shattering her fragile confidence.

>> He told me that he wanted
nothing to do with me,

that I was worthless,

that I was a mistake.

>> The pain pushes 17-year-old Ashley

to make her eighth suicide attempt.

>> After I got off the phone with him,

went in the bathroom, got
to three bottles of pills

and started taking them.

I wanted to die.

I wanted it all to end.

>> Like so many of the
girls we met, Ashley

is desperate to be loved

and to give love.

She repeats the cycle of becoming
a teenage parent herself.

Soon, her boyfriend is not
he only man in her life.

>> I'm going to give my
baby everything that my mom

couldn't give me.

>> It's not an easy dream
to live out, but pregnancy

does help keep Ashley out of trouble.

Just two days before her graduation,

Ashley gave birth to
seven pound, seven ounce

Joshua David, a Biblical
name that suggests

a calling to overcome.

(orchestral music)

Her son's birth wound up being the perfect

graduation gift.

>> In spite of everything,
she's changed her life

and was just released from
the hospital, we understand,

today, and she has said that
she was not going to miss

her graduation.

(audience applauds)
Ashley, would you please

come up and receive your
presidential scholarship?

(audience applauds)

>> Thank you.
>> Thank you.

>> We're very proud of you.

>> She is off to college and off drugs.

The hope is that she and all of these kids

have their best days in front of them.

>> This has been one of the better weeks

I've had in a long time,

probably the best.

>> We'll be right back.

Like the rest of us,
these kids can't control

the circumstances they were born into,

and many of them won't
be able to overcome them,

but whether it was the
success of the Arizona system

or just the eternal optimism of youth,

every one of these kids
held a ray of hope,

all of them wanted to change.

I'm Chris Cuomo.

For all of us at Primetime, goodnight.

(men shout)

(percussive music)

>> The Emmy nominations are in.

Every ABC News program
has been singled out,

honored for excellence.

No wonder morning 'till night,

24, 7, more Americans get
their news from ABC News,

accurate, credible, and
once again, honored.

>> [Second Announcer]
The Women's British Open,

this weekend on ABC.

(horn music)