PRISON FELLOWSHIP: Juvenile Justice

  Nauschkoniwaheegh Hamilton followed his parents' example down a path of drugs and incarceration. Now he's a role model to the youth incarcerated with him.

The United States imprisons more of its people than that of any other nation. And the youth justice system is not immune.

Guest writer Scott Larson of Straight Ahead Ministries shares the needs of youths in the juvenile justice system and how we can help.

There's someone waiting for Pedro on the other side of the prison's walls. Someone he doesn't want to fail.

"I was certified as an adult when I was 17 years old and have been locked up for the last 15 years," Robert writes from the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Lino Lakes.

Kevin Bethel was in charge of school police in Philadelphia when he started researching juvenile crime.

“I was shocked to see we were locking up 1,600 kids a year,” Bethel tells Philly.com. “And I was shocked to see the offenses kids were being locked up for.”

For Prison Fellowship Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy Craig DeRoche, justice reform is more than a job, it’s a passion developed from personal experience.

At the age of 34, DeRoche was elected Speaker of the House in the Michigan State Legislature—the youngest person to ever hold that position.

Although the number of children in detention centers has dramatically decreased over the past 15 years, there are still an estimated 55,000 juveniles behind bars. Regardless of whether they have committed a crime, they have the right to an education that must be provided for while in the detention center.

By the time he was 19, Jeff Henderson had established himself as one of the premier drug dealers in southern California.  He was making $35,000 a week by age 21—driving fancy cars and living the life of a street celebrity.

But all that came to an end at 24, when he was sentenced to 19.5 years in prison.