Hi my name is J.T. I am 18 years of age. I was born on May 7, 1998. I like to rap, play basketball, and make people laugh. I have one son. I have one sister, three brothers, and one niece. I grew up in a rough community in Cincinnati, Ohio called Walnut Hills. I attended Fredrick Douglass Elementary, which is located in Walnut Hills. I am currently doing 14 year for involuntary manslaughter, which I didn’t do. I was accused of being there.

As I was growing up, my second oldest brother was incarcerated when I was 14 years old. It affected me because I looked up to him. He was my role model. He always wanted me to do right, but he ended up making a mistake and it cost him six years of his life in prison. Then after he was incarcerated, I started skipping school, catching truancy charges, which is a misdemeanor, a crime less than a felony. That is when I first got introduced to the juvenile system. When I turned 16 years old, I was hanging around the wrong group of individuals.

On September 2, 2014, the involuntary manslaughter was committed. I was in the juvenile detention center 2 days later. As I was going to court, my attorneys told me it was a good possibility of me getting out if I got bound over. Then I was bound over to the adult system. It was a very scary experience because I had never been incarcerated. So as I was bound over, I thought I was going to get out because I was only 16 years old and I felt as if the judge was going to have some type of sympathy for me. They told me if I don’t take 14 year I’m going to get 18 to life in prison. So, I took 14 years in prison.

It affected me in a negative way because they took me away from my family, and my son. Now my son doesn’t have a father figure in his life to teach him right from wrong. My family can only visit me once a month for 1 hour. I lost my chances to turn my life around because a have a first-degree felony on my record. Plus, the adult programs are a lot different from the juvenile system.

The juvenile system has a better high school option for juveniles. They have more programs to offer. The adult system doesn’t have too many programs to offer, and it takes a very long time to get into school. If you don’t have enough credits, they are going to force you to get a G.E.D.

My hope is to file after my mandatory, go to the parole board, and go home to my family. My goal is to get my high school diploma, get out, go to college, and live a long successful life.

I would change Ohio’s laws about binding over youth to the adult system by keeping the youth in the youth detention services until they are grown and then release them. I would like for CLC, and other people out there who are interested, to help stop juveniles from being bound over to know that the adult system is a very unsafe place for juveniles.

Since I have been in prison I have seen people get stabbed and a lot more thing, plus the C.O.s attack you and spray you with mace if you even try to do right. I think prison and the adult system is a place for adults only and not juveniles because juveniles are not fit to be in an unsafe environment like this. If there is anyone out there to help prevent juveniles from being bound over, please do so. Please and thank you.

Sincerely,

J.T.

My name is G.C. I grew up on the West side of Cleveland, Ohio where there is a lot of violence and criminal gang activity. My mother and father were not in my household growing up. I was raised by my grandparents. In 2007, when I was 9 years old, my grandfather passed away. After that I had no one to discipline me. My grandmother was getting old and in poor health. I started doing whatever I wanted to do. I would always skip school, and I was I the streets all day and night. When I was 11 years old, I spent a month in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center. From there, I went to a juvenile rehabilitation center in Parmadale. I spent 90 days there and was released.

I stayed out of the system for 6 years but then I got caught up in another case. At 17 years of age, I was indicted for allegedly committing 18 felonies. My first day in the juvenile center in Cuyahoga County I was lost in my thoughts thinking about my consequences for my crimes. I never even knew what a bind over was. Then the day came where I saw my court date and it read “Mandatory bind over.” The staff explained to me what it meant. I couldn’t believe that they would charge me as an adult when I was only 17 years of age.

The only thing I could think to do was to keep a good behavior, and do my school work so it would look good in court. After 7 months in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center, I achieved my high school diploma. I was hoping that when the time came to get sentenced I would get out without going to prison or possibly only do a year or so. I focused on my future and stayed out of trouble. I planned to get out and apply for college. I ended up getting sentenced to 7 years in prison. I was devastated. I was only 17 years old.

I am currently at the Correctional Reception Center located in Orient, Ohio. It is a big difference than being in the juvenile system. There are many programs here. There are G.E.D. and high school diploma classes, there are trades such as welding, HVAC, plumbing, painting, electricity, construction, and power plant. You can also join an apprenticeship program to become a janitor, garbage man, or a cook/baker. There are many more programs that you can join to change your life around.

Ever since I was bound over, I have been thinking about my future. Being a felon makes you look bad when it comes to getting a job or some careers. I can’t join the military because of it. I hope to get out and live a better life than the one that I was living before. I have hopes of getting into college and having a good job. My goal is to get my HVAC (Heating ventilation and cooling) certification while I’m incarcerated so that I can do that when I’m released.

If I could change Ohio’s laws of binding youth over to the adult criminal justice system and doing time in prison I would. I would abolish the law completely. They are not adults; they should not be treated as one. I think it is cruel and unusual punishment.

Since I can’t change the laws of Ohio, I hope to encourage youths from committing violent offense. I don’t want to see any child be in the position I am in. My birthday will be in a few days and I will be 19 years old. I have been incarcerated for almost 2 years, and I still have 5 years left to do. I do not know if anyone will read this, but if you are, and you’re a minor who has been in an out of the system, I ask that you change your ways, find help, find someone to talk to so they can show you the right path to go down. Nothing is worth being locked away behind these gates, away from your family, freedom, and future. If I could go back and change my ways I would, but I can’t, so I hope I can help someone else not follow in my footsteps.

Sincerely,

G.C.

My name is L.A. and I am a Juvenile offender at the Correctional Reception Center (C.R.C.) in Orient, OH. When I was younger I would have never thought I would end up in an adult prison system or any place that results in me being incarcerated, but as you can see certain decisions I have made has led me down the wrong path that I am now re-routing and re-building, to not only help me be successful in prison, but when I do get out to be successful also. I was pretty much a “good” kid growing up in Cincinnati, OH. My mother and father weren’t together as I was growing so I would go back and for the between the two houses. Eventually I stayed with my dad for awhile and switched schools to the district he lived in. I was a good student, played football, participated in school activities, and everything was good and positive for me. But my first year of high school (freshman year) one of my friends took his own life on 2/4/13 and that had a huge effect on me. I started to stress more and lose interest in school and in sports. Then that following summer my father was diagnosed with heart failure and was in and out of the hospital alot, as he is now. After that I stopped caring about school, and sports, and started hanging out in the streets more, and stopped going to school, conditioning camps for sports, and school activities all together.But it really got worse when I got expelled for truancy (not coming to school) and drug activity because now it was a 24/7 thing nonstop. I didn’t have to go to school at all now so im thinking now I can focus more on this money out here in the streets but I was terribly mistaken. On March 28th 2014 my karma caught up with me and I commited a crime, that day is when I realized what type of life I was living and was not only wrong but was also very dangerous.

I put my life at stake, my families hearts, and lives of regular citizens as well. I was in the Juvenile Jail for about a week before I knew what was going to happen to me in my case, which was me getting binded over to the adult court system. Me never even been arrested, or no prior record to this didnt really understand this situation. At that point in time it was a lot on my mind I didn’t know what to do. All i could think in my head was, I cant do this all this time, and I cant make it through this prison system. But over time I realized its not the end of my life, its just a bump in the road, that’s going to build up and strengthen my mind, as well as help me learn new skills, and knowledge. After I was officially binded over as an adult Im not going to lie I was scared. Not only of physical things and situations, but from the mental and emotional toll I was about to endure on this journey. I was in my juvenile facility for an whole year before I came to C.R.C. for those 12 months I went outside approximately 5 times. When I did finally get to go outside I felt sick because my body, my eyes, and skin weren’t used to the outside air and weather. When you get in that room and its no one else in there but you and your thoughts, you realize this isnt a way of life I want to live.

If I would have got an second chance at freedom I know I would have taken full advantage of that opportunity and changed my life around. Even though Im still going to do so when I get out I know from talking to some of the other juveniles, some aren’t going to change now. They are thinking since they are just going to ruin my record and give me all of this time, that when I do get out im going to be in a spot where I just go back to doing what I know how to do to get money. Whether its robbing, stealing, selling drugs, or killing. This saddens me and concerns me dearly to know this is how my fellow peers are thinking. I hope over time many of their mind sets change but I think we need more people to help on this issue. In the adult system I feel like I am able to get in more programs than at my juvenile facility, but we are limited to certain programing because of our age. I am currently in high school here at C.R.C. which will soon let me receive my high school diploma. In my future I see myself getting out of prison on my Judicial Release, and when I get out to continue to give back and develop my community and youth of my city. I feel like this bind over situation should be more known and talked about among people across the country. So youth can know what can happen to them if they choose to commit a crime or continue to commit crimes, to let them think before they act. Also I think there should be a time cap put into effect to where an mistake made by an Juvenile wont cost them their entire life and im not saying justice shouldnt be served, but I don’t think any crime an juvenile commits should cost them their entire life.

I do think the bind over law give juveniles a real prison experience for everybody especially the ones with lesser time so they already known when they are grown they dont want to come back to prison. But I still dont see why people cant be rehabilitated in juvenile court systems. Especially ones like me who doesnt have a prior record, and mandatory bind over charges, and good school records but I have accepted my time and situation and I am happy with my life. Thank you for giving me the oppurtunity to tell and get my story out there and I hope this has an impact in some body’s life.
Sincerely,
L.A.