Last Chance In Texas Summary

John Hubner, the author of Last Chance in Texas, lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife and two children. He used to work as a staff writer for the Boston Phoenix. After that, he worked a magazine writer and then an investigative reporter for many years at the San Jose Mercury News and is now the regional editor there (Penguin Random House). In this book, Hubner examines what a normal day is like behind the gates of the Giddings State School. He tells his story not only from his experiences being at the facility, but also by sharing other people’s experiences. Hubner talks with and gets insights from therapists, students, coaches, teachers, and even some parents to get all the information necessary to complete this book. Elena and Ronnie

are the two main focuses throughout the book. Hubner sits and observes while these two tell their life stories and watches to see how a Capital Offenders group is ran and how it has been so successful.
The book itself has three sections: The Introduction, Part One and Part Two.

The introduction talks about the juvenile facility called the Giddings State School that lies in the small town of Giddings, Texas. Hubner primarily talks about the State School and how it is ran to be one of the best in the country. During both part one and two, Hubner tells his readers the life stories that were told by students and everything else that goes on during a Capital Offenders Group session. Part one consists of chapters one through seven. In these chapters, Hubner tells his readers everything he experienced when he observed what it was like on the boys’ side of the Giddings State School by watching group sessions through a one-way mirror and by talking with the Giddings faculty. Part two consists of chapters eight through twelve. In these chapters, Hubner now tell his readers about the girls’ side of the Giddings State School. The thesis of the book is examining the spike in violent juvenile crime between the years 1984 and

1994.

In the introduction section Hubner describes the small town of Giddings, Texas as if it is an old country town with nothing but friendly people. The Giddings State School is the juvenile facility that’s on the edge of town, and is considered to be the best of the best when it comes to the thirteen juvenile secure facilities in Texas (xii-xiii). The State School is a fancy looking juvenile facility where adolescents can be sent if they commit a violent crime or a series of non-violent crimes. Hubner goes into a little detail about the facilities history and the effectiveness of it when it comes to recidivism rates. The group sessions that he sits in are part of the Capital Offenders Group program or the COG. The program consists of eighteen kids who have been in the State School for at least two years and have learned many things that he or she had never learned when they were back at home (xxii). If one does well in COG then they will more than likely be let out on parole. But, if one does not do so well and has to leave COG then they will be transferred to a prison (xxiii).
Linda Reyes is the deputy executive director of the Texas Youth Commission and a key source used throughout the book. Reyes came up with the idea of having the youth tell their life stories to the other students in the group as well as a couple psychologists who led the group sessions (14). When telling a life story, the youth would start from the very beginning of his life and everything that happened to them when they were younger. I like to think of it as their “victim story”. Out of all the boys in this COG group, none of them had a stable home life as kids. A majority of the time, it is hard for these youth to come out and say everything they want to say because they have never had someone ask them what is going on with them or showed that they truly care about them. When a student telling their story starts to cry and shut down, the therapists are right next to them, comforting them to let them know that they are okay and that they need to keep pushing through until the end. The members of the groups also help each other and push each other to talk about the abuse they suffered from when they were children.
In part one, Ronnie tells his life story to the group. He begins by telling the group about his life growing up with his mom and little brother. They went from living with the boys’ grandparents to living with their aunt. Ronnie thought he loved it at first, until his aunt started to beat him. At first, Marina, Ronnie’s mom, didn’t believe Ronnie when he told her about the abuse, but after a while she came to her senses and moved the boys back home with their grandparents. Although Ronnie’s aunt was the one who inflicted the physical abuse, Marina was the one who inflicted the emotional abuse when she abandoned the boys. After leaving her kids with her parents and brother for two years, Marina came back for them and moved them to Amarillo with her and her boyfriend, Jimmie. As Ronnie got older, he became more accepted by Jimmie and started smoking, drinking, and helping with Jimmie’s drug business. During this time of his life, Ronnie was physically abusive to his little brother, the way his aunt was to him. At this point in Ronnie’s life story, he is at the age of when he started committing crimes. This part of the therapy session is where Ronnie starts telling his crime story. The other boys listen, make comments and ask questions throughout his story, trying to help Ronnie find his empathy for others and take responsibility for the pain he inflicted and crimes he has committed. Also during this time, the therapists transform from being empathetic during the life story, to being tough and attacking the boy with questions during the crime story. At the end of every crime story there are two role plays that take place (15). The first one, the kid plays himself and reenacts the crime exactly as it happened. The second one, the kid plays his own victim (15). Although participating in role plays are difficult for the one whose story it is, but can also be for the others who are helping act out the plays. They are told that even though someone else’s story may hit home for them, they should not try to back out of helping because it is not about them, it’s about their peer and helping them (15).
In part two, Hubner focuses on Elena and her life story. Just like over on the boys’ side, Elena told her life story to the group of girls in her Capital Offenders group. After telling her life and crime stories, Elena also had to participate in the role plays that seemed to affect her peers just as much as they affected her. The role plays help the boys and girls visualize the pain and terror they caused on people who did not deserve it. When both roles are over, it’s time for the groups to give feedback. They talk about what just happened in the role plays, how it made them feel when comparing that story to their own stories, and what they took from it. During role plays, the students see the things that have shaped their lives and it gives them a chance to shape those forces, rather than be shaped by them (224).
There is no certain detail in the book that could have been improved because this book was written amazingly.

It had many facts and resources to help the reader get a greater understanding of the Giddings State School and how it operates. Although the book very entertaining, it was also heartbreaking and unsettling at certain times. Hubner’s thesis is neither supported nor not supported. His thesis is examining the spike in violent crimes within ten years, but there is never a clear answer as to why the crimes went up. He found a way to tell these kids’ stories while also shining a light on the ties between physical/emotional abuse and violence; children grow up inflicting violence on others when they themselves were once the victims of that

violence.
Last Chance in Texas could be recommended to anyone aged thirteen and up because of the foul language that is used throughout the book. It is a book that would really capture the attention of anyone who is interested in the juvenile justice system, political science, or just someone who is looking for a good read. This is a story that has many heart-wrenching aspects of it, some that are pretty difficult to endure. Although it may tug at a few heart string, Hubner’s work can also be educational because of all the facts that are presented. The book focuses on how there is hope that youth offenders can be rehabilitated and changed for the better, but sometimes that’s not always the case.