Happy Friday, all. I took this photo yesterday. It seemed a lot of people were enjoying Rosa Parks Circle.
Today, after a 5 hour trial, I was waiting for the Judge to render his verdict.
The Judge took the bench and, before telling the parties his decision, he conducted a video arraignment – someone charged with a crime who was sitting in jail.
The young man was 18 years old.
The Judge asked the young man a question: his question and the young man’s answer stuck with me. (Even after the Judge rendered a decision on my case.)
The Judge asked the young man: “do your parents know you are in jail?”
Answer from the young man: “Yeah, she knows.”
I will state the obvious: The fact that this young man when speaking of his parents makes no reference to a father in his life is both telling and heartbreaking.
This reality is simply not how the world should be.
And, unfortunately, this story is typical.
Fatherless Generation
I took these statistics from the Fatherless Generation
- Father Factor in Incarceration – Even after controlling for income, youths in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families. Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds. A 2002 Department of Justice survey of 7,000 inmates revealed that 39% of jail inmates lived in mother-only households. Approximately forty-six percent of jail inmates in 2002 had a previously incarcerated family member. One-fifth experienced a father in prison or jail.
Father Factor in Crime – A study of 109 juvenile offenders indicated that family structure significantly predicts delinquency. Adolescents, particularly boys, in single-parent families were at higher risk of status, property and person delinquencies. Moreover, students attending schools with a high proportion of children of single parents are also at risk. A study of 13,986 women in prison showed that more than half grew up without their father. Forty-two percent grew up in a single-mother household and sixteen percent lived with neither parent
In the fall I will begin once again again mentoring an elementary aged student.
Each of the students that I have met with over the years has had a lack of a father figure in his life.
I look at these statistics, and ask myself:
is it worthwhile spending one hour a week during the school year with a boy who needs a positive male role model?
The answer every time is “Yes.”
I wonder about this young man that I saw on video arraignment today – how would his life be different if he had a different answer to the Judge’s question? “Yes, they know”
My question for you – “who are you pouring into?”
E-mail: Jeshua@dwlawpc.com
Twitter: @JeshuaTLauka
Purpose Driven General Counsel 