March 23, 2011
I was in the high security portion of Juvenile Hall yesterday working on an inspection. The boys on this unit had all committed crimes leading them to be deemed safety risks. Most of them were charged with murder or attempted murder, and many involved gang affiliation. I spent hours there.
I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of the youth, one of whom was drawing in pencil. His drawing of a baby was incredibly realistic and appeared to be a sign of extraordinary talent.
As a couple of us were talking to this boy about his home and where he was raised, he made it a point to tell us about the “whoopings” he got throughout his childhood. He said that he and other children were beaten at home and at school, including the elementary school, where they were beaten with paddles with holes in the them designed to cause welts, on the bare buttocks. At home, they were beaten with paddles and extension cords.
This is one of those times where my conclusions may be unnecessary for readers, but I might mention that additionally scientists have shown through MRI brain scans that, among many other things, trauma in childhood leads to left and right brain asymmetry, potentially leading the part of the brain responsible for creativity to become “overdeveloped”, while the portion controlling logic becomes underdeveloped.