Regardless of age, the system does not discriminate: Children who have shoplifted, graffitied a wall, or run away from home sit next to kids who have shot and stabbed people. Others wriggle on the floor in restraints, screaming as they experience the symptoms of drug withdrawal in the emptiness of a jail cell. "All of a sudden you have the first-timers being trained by multiple offenders," says Adam Rodriguez, a Webb County probation officer. "Ten days later you release this kid and you've got a little monster, because he's learned how to pack a .45, how to do a drive-by and be able to abscond from the police."

One of the brothers describes his trips to court: "I was always telling the judge I needed help on drugs. They wouldn't listen to me. My PO doesn't want to risk it. He says that I'm going to run away from there. I've never been to rehab even once."
But Jose Luis finds a sad silver lining to his travails:
"It sucks to be here, but it's keeping me safer than out there on the streets. 'Cause out there on the streets, I was doing all these bad things and in here I'm safe. Out there I can get shot and shit..."

Liss images on America's Forgotten Children

Beautiful, but too sad for me to look at today...

That's really hard to look at, matteo. I need to go hug my kid now.

Years ago I was robbed at knife point. I knew who the kid was and knew he had no parental influence and was somehow severely mentally impaired. Before the trial I wrote a note to the crown attorney (like a U.S. district attorney) and I addressed the issue on the stand. I wanted the kid off the street but I wanted him to get into some sort of care and I did not want him locked up with more intelligent and meaner criminals. He was convicted and no one ever addressed my concerns. Fuckers.