No Choirboy

No Choirboy

YA nonfiction
It's a picture perfect day. The hubby and I are at camp. I've
been taking nature photographs. Then in this little piece of heaven I
open a literary portal into Hades.
Susan Kuklin's No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on
Death Row is exactly what the title predicts. People in prison tell
of their experiences behind bars, some having spent time on death
row. They were convicted of brutal crimes when they were merely
teens. If you're anything like me their stories will chill you to the
bone. In a particularly poignant chapter the younger brother and
sister of a young man who was legally executed by the state talk about
the effect of his death on their family. A family whose son was
killed by teens explains their desire to not see capital punishment
carried out on his murderers. A lawyer who represents clients charged
with capital crimes draws the too strong connections between race,
poverty, and the ultimate penalty.
This is a very difficult read and a very timely one. More and
more it seems there is a pressure to try people who commit crimes that
horrify us as adults even if they're teens and younger, to see them as
monsters beyond any possibility of redemption. What makes this
practice especially indefensible is all the solid research that shows
the centers in our brain that regulate behavior and judgement do not
become fully developed and functional until the age of twenty-five.
Then there's the connections between harsh punishment and race and
poverty for teens and adults. Can a system with such serious flaws be
truly considered justice?
It is very fitting that this volume concludes with a quote by
Martin Luther King Junior:
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending
spiral...Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding
deep darkness to a night already devoid of stars."
On a personal note, I can't imagine the horror and despair I'd feel if
my beloved teen age son had an execution date rather than a graduation
one.
A great big shout out goes out to all who work to reform our judicial
system.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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