Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth

The Giddings State School in Central Texas was first a home for abused children but later converted to a maximum-security prison for juvenile offenders. As Hubner notes, “The Giddings State School gets ‘the worst of the worst,’ the four hundred most heinous youthful offenders in Texas. Across the country, the school is famous in juvenile justice circles for its aggressive treatment programs” (2).

The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) instituted multiple programs across the state to try to rehabilitate such youthful offenders, but the Giddings School represents the commission’s greatest success story. Inmates are referred to as students and live in what resembles a lush prep-school campus environment. Those who eventually fulfill basic requirements are allowed to join the Capital Offenders Group (COG). The recidivism rate for students who complete the six-month program is virtually nil. Graduates are allowed to reintegrate into society rather than facing prison terms of 20 or more years.

A former State School superintendent says that incarcerating a juvenile in a traditional prison constitutes “easy time,” because subjects aren’t required to work on themselves or change inwardly. In contrast, those who enter the COG serve “hard time”:

Giddings looks nice on the outside. Inside, it is the toughest prison in Texas.