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Exploring Life Of Alonza Thomas

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Exploring Life of a incarcerated juvenile, Alonza Thomas

Alonza Thomas was a typical fifteen year old boy, he had no run ins with the police, his mom worked two jobs and his father was not around. His mother was trying to finish a college degree, and help get the out the slum life they were in.His entire life ruined by one mistake, he was sent to adult prison for thirteen years. He was convicted right after California “cracked down” on juvenile crime. Alonza Thomas attempted to rob a convenience store at gunpoint, when the clerks and owners tackled and stopped him. “But with the additional charge of assault with a firearm, Alonza faced as many as four decades in prison (McNally, 2014).” To lower his sentence, he pleaded guilty. Alonza was sent to a state penitentiary, not a juvenile facility since his crime fell under the Proposition 21, and his crime was dangerous enough to be charged as an adult. “In the state prison of Tehachapi, young offenders were housed in a separate area, away from the men in the general population (McNally, 2014)” Even though the young population was separated from the general population, the juveniles faced many other threats. Alonza spent a lot of time in isolation, weeks to months at a time. The prisoners spent time in almost …show more content…

He did commit a serious crime, but a look into his life should have lowered the sentence some, but he did have to pay for his crimes. His harsh treatment in prison negatively affected the person he is today, he was named in a suit against the prison system over mistreatment to the mentally ill inmates. His mentality is different, he will never be able to be the man he could have been. He can only look forward and hope to be the best man possible. His personality is changed, he owns up to that, he is more aggressive in certain situations, but if anyone went through what he did, then they would be in the same

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