Todd got called for jury duty this week. It was a drug trafficking case. The jury was picked. They led the defendant into the courtroom. He was dressed in a big dirty hoodie, long white t-shirt underneath. Pants hanging off his butt.
Todd wondered if the defense attorney suggested he might dress differently?
When the defendant turned around Todd got a good look at his face.
Fear.
"He can't be 20 years old." Todd thought.
A baby.
The presence of the jury intimidated him and the teen decided to take a plea bargain.
His family stood weeping in the back of the courtroom.
He's off to jail.
Another child we've failed as a society.
Another mother cries herself to sleep.
About Me
- Michelle O'Neil
- I've written for Literary Mama,The Imperfect Parent,Cool Cleveland,The Mad as Hell Club and the anthologies pictured below. I'm also a contributor to Hopeful Parents. In recent former lives, I worked in radio news and as a registered nurse. I blog about one Hot Toddy,two great kiddos,spirituality, autism and whatever else tickles me. Our daughter Riley is nine and has Asperger's,our son Seth is seven. Thanks for stopping! Make yourself at home.
Anthologies I've contributed to:
Countdown to Riley's Service Dog
I support gay marriage
Blog Roll
- 4 Paws for Ability
- 4 Paws for Kheira
- Author Mom With Dogs
- Carnal Zen
- Changing Trains
- Charlie the North Star Dog
- Courtney Sheinmel
- Creative Ink
- DC IMPACT
- Drama Mama
- Fully Caffeinated
- GMO-FREE SHOPPING GUIDE
- Healing and Preventing Autism
- Hopeful Parents
- Identity Crisis
- Incipient Turvy
- Indiebound.org
- Jennifer Lauck
- Jess Wilson
- Kario
- Kim Stagliano
- Laura Goodin
- Lend 4 Health
- Lessons from Liberty
- Lisa Romeo
- Literary Mama
- Look Me In The Eye
- Mad As Hell Club
- MB12
- Mercurious
- Normal Films
- Pixie Mama
- Real(tor) Thoughts
- Reflections on the Pond
- Roughly Speaking
- Teachings of Abraham
- TED Talks
- Teen Autism
- The Believing Soul
- The Daily Puppy
- The Pioneer Woman
- This Mom
- Working With Words
- Writer Unboxed
7 comments:
With our hearts breaking we would ask, "Why?" As if we didn't know. Pray for this child to find his way in this world.
You're so, so right.
God, it's never just black and white or good or bad.
Gotta look deeper into those gray areas.
Pray for him and others. Pray for ourselves for understanding.
As Suzy says, we have to look deeper into the gray. These are hard questions, Michelle.
How do you stop this young man from ruining other lives by selling drugs without ruining his? There has to be a way. We must be able to offer these young men meaningful lives somehow.
So many mothers crying in the night.
And the world is obsessing over Imus' stupid comment. This kid got his cues from the people who tell him how to dress, how to speak, how to live his life. And it lands the child in jail. I don't know if this boy was black or white - it doesn't matter. But the culture of guns, ho's and bitches instead of school, family, job is doing none of our youth any good. I hope the kid makes it.
I both love and hate the moments when we can see our own humanity in the eyes of another person with whom we would normally not feel any kinship. Thanks, Michelle!
Fifty percent of black men do not have jobs here in Philly. The number of boys "incarcerated" is at record highs. The kids here use that word instead of "in jail".
We need to do more than pray. Those of us who can need to reach out.
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