José was a fifteen year old boy who childhood was not easy. His father, was addicted to heroin, and disappeared shortly after José was born, and his mother had problems of her own and eventually disappeared as well. So, with all those family issues Jose became involved with a local gang. He also became a serious addict to drugs and alcohol. Fall of 1998 José participated in a deadly fight. He and four other teenagers which ended in a result of the skull of one of them was crushed, after being beaten repeatedly. The other escaped but José and his friends left the scene as the neighbors awoke to the commotion. José was arrested and charged with murder. Prosecutors asked for a hearing to determine if he could be tried in adult court, because of the seriousness of the crime. …show more content…
José was offered a deal: he was to move to adult court and plead guilty, but to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. After his plea, José was sent for a psychological evaluation at the California Youth Authority. He received an evaluation in which the psychologist found that he was not likely to be a threat to public safety as long as he was sober. Then judge sentence him to only 208 days in Juvenile Hall. Released from juvenile hall at 17, José now carries an adult record. He had to cut all ties with his gang life, submit to drug tests and either find a job or go to school full time. After five months José obtained a job with a local parks department. He enrolled in community college after the staff from juvenile hall helped him get books and a bicycle to get to