14-Year-Old with Special Needs Trapped in Maximum Security Prison
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- At just 14 years old, Justin was imprisoned in a maximum-security juvenile facility, a place meant for the most violent young offenders. But Justin wasn’t like the others. With an IQ of 40 and a background of severe neglect and abuse, he found himself locked away in a system that didn't know how to care for him. This documentary follows Justin's heart-wrenching journey through the juvenile justice system, where he was abandoned by family, misunderstood by society, and left to navigate an adult world that wasn't built for him.
For years, Justin struggled behind bars, facing daily challenges that no child should ever endure. Despite his disabilities and traumatic past, he found support from a few caring individuals who saw him not as a criminal, but as a boy in desperate need of love and guidance. This is the story of how those people changed his life, helping him find a way out of the system and into a better future.
Instagram - @realstoriesdocs
Any queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com
Those caregivers are seriously next level. Respect
Only for the camera
I have a son with special needs, this hits me hard. I can't imagine not knowing where he's at. I feel grateful that Justin had these wonderful people.❤
This just tears my heart out and rips it into a million pieces! How tragic right up until the last couple of minutes. Justin and his new dad are so cute together, matching facial hair and all! How could anyone not just love his innocence and inner sweetness? His birth parents really missed out on a one of a kind treasure. They didn't deserve him. And to know that their whole story was made up because they didn't want to raise him angers me to my core! No child deserves to be treated that way. I don't care who you are. Prison was the exact wrong place to put him. So glad he found a real man he can call Dad!!
Justin seems like a good person, i hope he has received the assistance he needed to reintegrate into society.
I cried my eyes out watching this documentary, this so resonates with me having a son with special needs. Open eyes and open arms to all the people involved in your childhood. Justin you're amazing and your journey has been exceptional, with a positive outcome. You have so many amazing people around you. Surrounded by living angels. You deserve a wonderful happy life. God bless you.
I can’t believe at the end when it says the crime he was incarcerated for was made up so his family no longer had to care for him. They should be arrested and sent down for time he served. Disgraceful!
Its repulsive. I cant imagine his pain.😢😮
Thank god there are people out there who care
even after all of this time, he still says I would tell her I want to go home. that just breaks my heart as a mother.
Seeing the boy cry near the beginning when all the cops have him, is heartbreaking. I know he's in there for a reason, but someone has failed him hard.
I'm SO happy that Justin got the family every child deserves .
Justin's parents are the ones whom when old will feel the loneliness of there own doing .
Justin will be OK because of good empathetic people that also have a better life because of Justin.
This is genuinely heartbreaking to see, especially as someone with special needs. Its just inhumane.
What did he do?
@@jamespaul6315he didn't do anything apparently...it was all made up so his family didn't have to take care of him.
@@jamespaul6315 Nothing. He was framed by his "family" so they could get rid of him.
@@nancythomas2193 based on no evidence? At all? Something doesnt add up
@@jamespaul6315He was abandoned by his family and no where to place him .
Not me, sobbing over him reading his birthday card. It's so amazing how far this young man has come with the proper intervention and the guidance of people who truly care about him.
The judges that do not give these people an attorney should be held accountable.
Yea I can see that because how are the kids supposed to defend themselves
Oh my God, he stole my heart... I am 66 years old and I have a 30 year old stepson with special needs... i came to Michigan to live and work... 6 months after arriving, i was coming home after working all day... Thomas caught up to me riding a bike, we started talking we became friends... if Tom needs something he will let me know... and since I am retired i get him anything he needs... Tom has problems with family members, they all ask him to visit but, they will not return him home, this is when he calls me... if i go out to eat, i invite him... i talk to Tom every day to make sure he is ok...
Mrs H 🇬🇧 .... This broke my heart..No.complex needs child should be locked away... My boy is 15 yrs old & is complex needs .. I took him on at 4 day's old..It was extremely hard at first once I knew he wasn't developing like the average toddler even though there where signs when he was a baby.. I needed help & training to help him & to me he's just perfect..Patience, repetition in routines, love & respite cos my boy does sleep very well so a few nights a week where I can rest is a huge help...But I don't just love him I worship him...He's taught me so much & is so loving...I've had more rewards back for the hard work raising him than I can say... I'm so pleased Justin got his own family cos he so deserved it... I wish them well...
Justin lucked out in the end and so did Mel from the way he spoke ...so happy to see him with his Dad Mel. Those two certainly looked in sync. A lot of professionals with their heart in the right place in this story contributed to Justin finding happiness 😊
Seeing Justin's face light up at his first time out of jail and his smile, the facility, the hoop, the pool🥹😢😢 I cried 😭. God bless the people working with and for him🙏🏿💙 #HomewardBound 👏🏾#LookingGreat👍🏽
Am so happy this story has a very happy ending. God bless all these people who took care of Justin.God always use people and situations to show us theres always a way!
Mike D. and all the caregivers were so good to him. Thank you for being decent people 🙏 and Mel is just an angel. Thank for being there for Justin!
I worked for a long time with vulnerable young people like Justin. To see the difference in him in such a short time is amazing. It just shows if the right factors are put in place for them they can absolutely thrive ❤
Sad to hear these kids who are struggling so much don’t get the advocacy and representation they should. So much respect to these people in the positions to positively impact this child’s life and correct an injustice. I know from experience as an addict in treatment that those caregivers who go the extra mile are miracle workers. Praying for you Justin 🙏🙏🙏
I am thrilled that much work has been done to remedy this situation. It will take years to find all the answers, but God bless each person that endeavored to help Justin & the system. Videos like these help the public understand the extent of this dilemma. Thank you & God bless. 💙🙏🏽
What a great documentary. I’m thankful for all the people that helped this young man to get where he’s at may you be blessed many times over.
God bless all of them that helped that child.
What an amazing documentary maker, thank goodness for a beautiful ending ❤❤❤ and sticking with it x
I commend Mel for giving Justin the family he always deserved.
What is the iq of the people who placed this kid in PRISON?
1
What is the IQ of the prisoner??
I can’t believe you’d have the nerve to break out “IQ”!! Because, it you look into it, you’ll be disturbed about the huge IQ gap among the races.
You won’t though.
I’m glad that we’re able to use IQ as a valid measurement! Now we need to break the bad news to our minority population.
A 48 IQ is extraordinarily low, even when you consider the average among them is 81.
In any case, I’m happy that these people are using IQ as a valid measure of intelligence, rather than pretending otherwise.
If he was one of the black or brown kids they wouldn’t give a damn. They even stated that in the beginning of the video. His race automatically makes him a victim although HE VICTIMIZED& VIOLATED two toddlers. His behavior is overlooked and down played bc he’s Caucasian. How dare he be in jail w/ black and brown kids bc they’re corrupting his vulnerable mind. 🙄The majority of the kids that are in juvenile detention have low intelligence quotient, their parents are MIA, on drugs, or deceased. I have worked in social services for 20 years. They should treat all of the kids properly, the energy they put in Justin case should be put in ALL OF THE CASES.His story isn’t unique at all, parents abandon their kids daily unfortunately. This kid sexually abused two other minors. He is passive aggressive. He was placed In juvenile detention custody due to his actions. They’re trying to make it seem like he was just thrown in there bc he had no place to go. I have never seen a black or brown kid receive the attention and respect they give JUSTIN. He needs to be in a training program to address his sexual assault issues. He knew what he was doing and those kids was traumatized, they will need counseling as well as Justin. He will reoffend if he if doesn’t receive treatment.
The caregivers are absolute angels♥️ I wonder how Justin is doing now since the documentary was filmed a while ago
Im a grown man and feel like crying at this.
He was found dead on October 23/24
It's almost like if you raise children as prisoners that they grow up to be prisoners.
This is so heartbreaking.
It hurt my heart to watch
Yes 😢 unfortunately
I saw this yesterday and highly recommend it!! Justin is such a sweet sweet boy and I hope that he will have a good life!
💗 All that he's been through and still he's striving on for a better living and having the strength to stay positive. Respect! ✌️
Thank god for the manager, the staff and everyone else working so hard trying to give kids like Justin a better life with love surrounded by people who can give safe and adequate care and support. 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
I remember following Justin. He is doing great with his caregivers
I have followed Justin's story for many years/ The first segment i saw had me and Justin had my heart .Kate Mike and all the people that cared about him went above and beyond Thank God for folks like them. So happy his life turned out so good .
Watched till the end! Justin was convicted for NOTHING!!!
When they asked if he remembered the things and times in prison he said no. What everyone needs to understand is that he remembers it all. He wants to not remember it. That is what he means. He cant relay that with his disabilities.
Exactly. He don't want to remember it, it was a very dark time for him, and everybody in his life walked out on him, so yeah, he don't want to remember any of that, nor any of the time he spent in jail where he never should have been in the first place. If his family didn't want him, I'm pretty sure somebody would have taken him in if his family had enough brains to ask around...what a lousy bunch of people to turn on your own son, your own family member because you didn't want the burden of caring for him...seems a few people should have been in jail rather than Justin.....if you don't want to take care of a a child don't have them....just because you can have kids doesn't mean you should or deserve to. A child is a special gift, and should be loved, and cared for, not tossed out with the garbage....so sad that Justin had to endure all he did, on top of his learning disabilities, and the total lack of understanding as to why he was abandoned by his own family is horrible....he always tried to hope that his family would come for him, they never did, I'm sure even now that is something that still bothers him, and probably always will to some degree.
@tomfisher6634 I'm sure he did, and probably had to in order to be able to even marginally function.
This is heartbreaking. The system is broken
Oh its beyond broken. The foster care system is as well.
What a rollercoaster this one was, my goodness.
God bless every single person that went the extra mile & didn’t give up on Justin. His story touched my heart so deeply that I’m praying God shows me how I can become of service, maybe an advocate or even possibly adopt a child that has no one. I live in SW Florida and if anyone has any info on how to establish myself with local DCF or a non profit that helps children that are caught up in the system, I’d be so grateful. Blessings to all involved.
Absolutely….. I wish I could help him. God bless to all involved ❤
Glad he got someone to show him love and caring ❤
Shoutout to Mike Dempsey for doing the right thing and making sure that poor boy was in a place he belonged and not in prison even though it could cost almost 1/4 of the states budget to house him for a year.
This story was so heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. I’m so glad I watched it. It’s so incredibly sad that when people have children they can so easily leave them to navigate through the world alone and not look back. I wish all people would care for the helpless and abandoned children in the world. I thank God and all the people who cared about and loved Justin to make sure he got the life he truly deserves. ♥️🙏
This world isn't fit to bring kids into 💔
I'm thinking his parents weren't fit to bring children into this world. Either way, it's sad and just plain wrong.
i feel this way too and no abortions, bad parents, bad schools and corrupt everything..
@@lovethyneibor22736 wish I can hit the like button 1,000 times!
It can be if we start living like God is in us
@@jamesclark5093 let’s try without God for a change. Doesn’t seem to be going too well does it.
This story had touched my heart strings .. I’m so happy for Justin , and his parents told a lie because they didn’t want to take care of any of their kids! May Justin get to visit Ca to see the ocean, I’m also glad Justin got to see his brothers in the end to, Keep going Justin .
As far as I know it is a human rights violation to imprison persons with special needs in a prison and especially with criminals.
Depends what they did
If you ask 99% of criminals will claim special needs
Awww this makes my soul so happy 😇😄Those people that made up that story about him should be locked up for the same amount of time that he was locked up.. It;s heartbreaking that he suffered because of it.. In the end though he got the love he so wanted & deserved.. && wow he looks just like his adopted dad 🙂🥰🥰🥰
So sad he had to go all those years without a family to love and support him....he wouldn't have been there in the first place if his family was really a family.
The people who are "treating" him are more sick than the child. Sick abusers in the suit of authority. The state destroyed this child.
This breaks my heart so bad.....i remember growing up my parents took care of my cousin who was like a brother they abused him mentally, emotionally, physically, and sexually then threw him in a juvenile center then group home claiming he was a troubled child which he was that house we grew up in was house of horrors but i understood his pain and didn't find out until we were adults the sexual abuse he suffered ...this made me think of him and what he must have went threw...i think of him often my heart hurts for him i left my entire family in 2016 i pray he's doing well...im soooooo HAPPY AND PROUD OF JUSTIN AND THAT GOD FINALLY BLESSED HIM WITH A FAMILY ❤
An important story 💛 thankyou for sharing
But we can send Billions and Billions to other countries but we don't have funding to help our kids. Extremely sad.
We don’t have the staff, money, or people to take them in. Has zero to do with “ billions” to other countries. Btw, if you read a history book you will find out why we have to send money to other countries.
to which countries exactly are you sending billions and billions?
Just in 2022, Ukraine received 12 Billion dollars from the US.
I remember seeing the very first story about this young man a few years ago and it breaks my heart to pieces
@@chrisblair218 can you tell me where I can find more about him?
I'm happy people care about him.
Poor thing...so sad that his family abandoned him😢!
"Hold the door open for ladies"
..."Nooo no"
Based haha 😂
I worked for many years with adults who had.disabities .And I'm so astonished at how much his abilities have grown since he left prison. ❤
Funny tho, since it clearly sais 14
@@AcidOnTheStreet
Are you replying to my comment or to other's replie
I have as well. That's why I think it is a mistake to close state facilities. For someone like Justin, to me it is completely ridiculous to suggest that jail is a more appropriate place than a facility specializing in their needs.
@@Lynn-uf4ip
Yes our state closed the state facilities. And I was present during all the chaos, turmoil and blaming that went on at that time. What most people do not know was what the real issue was behind the closing of those facilities. State facilities were federally funded. And decisions had been made to stop funding them . Instead of just announcing this decision and finding new facilities and ways to work together and make me facilities that could accommodate the population, the federal people did something different. They did formal reviews of the state facilities, citing deficiencies. And despite charges being made they would return and find further deficiencies. And again and again.
I didn't work for a state facility. Instead I worked for a facility that was much smaller. BUT it also was federally funded. It was a higher level of care for our clients, who had medical issues that required a RN, medical staff, PT, OT, Speech Therapy, a medical doctor's visit every 3 months, a recreational therapist full time and a day plan where people could learn work skills. And there were several of these in my state and they were more expensive than group homes and hard to get into. But, again , these were federally funded.
When the federal folks got done closing the state institutions, the moved on to harassing our level of care facilities . The onsite reviews were grueling and apparently nothing we did could please them despite our facility never before receiving any negative reviews.
And finally we slowly realized that the main goal was just to defend this type of facility. 5 very good facilities in my state were closed within 2 years: places that were built especially for people with high medical needs, wheelchairs and etc.
Because of this numerous 5 bedroom group homes had to be built all over the state to house the displaced.
And the services they used to receive do not exist anymore.
As a person who has worked with adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities, a little care, love, kindness and compassion as well as love, patience hard work and therapy can work MIRACLES! We all too often give up on people who just need a little extra help. It is very simple, but it takes effort and a little commitment, and most people just don't have the heart or compassion. We all should have compassion to do this!
Prayers for you Justin. Keep up the good work. Greetings from ohio. Hope your family will contact you.❤.stay in school and make something of your life.
I'm at 7:42 and I'm going to have to stop watching because important words are being left out which are necessary to understand what's happening. What happened to Justin's grandparents? I don't know, you left those words out. What happened to Justin when he was a young child? I don't know, you left those words out. What crime did Justin do to end up behind bars? I don't know, you left those words out.
I am with you on your view of this
@carolinebjerkelund767 exactly! Like what is the point of uploading a video when it's censored like this?
I'm not the greatest at lip reading, but it looks like he was sexually abused when he was five and then arrested for child molestation later. Going back to the grandparents bit he starts saying "grandparents committed s" and then it cuts off so I'm assuming they were the ones that sexually assaulted him when he was five.
@@TootTootComingThru if only there were some way this information could've been shared within the video itself. Maybe using audio? If only!
@TootTootUSA It's impossible to truly understand what's happening if I'm going off of speculation instead of facts. So I'm not sure why this video has chosen to leave out the most important pieces of information relating to Justin's incarceration.
I can‘t belive how his so called family could do such a horrible thing to him (a child!?!?!?!?!) like whattttt he has such a good heart. I hope he and his dad have a great life now! ❤❤
I don’t get the justice system in American. You can’t put 10 year olds in jail? Wtf even 17 is too young. Wtf America is one strange place
I mean there are definitely some 17 year olds that are dangerous and deserve to be in jail
@ I’m talking about younger people too it’s messed up 😂 also the sentences are stupid too. Life in America is 500 years they pile all these charges on you. Why not just give them 80 years that life you aren’t getting out. I seen one TH-cam video where some kid in America got 700 years 😂 it’s like a bunch of clowns run your country.
@ and some of the sentences for small stuff are crazy too. Like you could rob someone’s house and they give you 80 years lol. In England you get 20 years for life. The justice system in America doesn’t work. Look at how many shootings school shootings etc the place is messed up. You even have to pay for an ambulance 🤣🤣🤣🤣😭
SICKENING 😢
Justin story bought tears 😢 😭, how could your own blood do that to you just so they didn't have to take responsibility for Justin's needs? Shame on them. They should be in jail for that,but I'm so glad that it ended in a happy situation, Justin was so lucky to have met Mel, and Mel saw the potential in Justin,and thank you Mel and your husband for giving Justin the love, safety, home and a family that Justin so desperately wanted to belong in and so glad to hear that Justin is doing well 💙🩵
Thank you to Kate and this man getting the appeal for Justin. This is such a sad case 😢.
34:00 when they said each others names like that my heart melted
Wow!!! How about putting him in a Cila or a mental health facility??????
“I don’t get to be locked up” ts so sad
Wow that family he ended up finding in those institutions when his own family turned their backs on him. I get that he had issues, but what a sweet kid. There is a special place downstairs for those that turned their back on him. I'm glad that things are working out so well for him.
How is that constitutional that these children didn’t have lawyers?
oh my god, the postscript about why he was ever in juvie to begin with....my jaw dropped. i remember watching the original doc on pendleton years ago and remember justin, so seeing this update was great. but my god so many failed him and his family - well, i best not say what i want to say about his family because it might get me banned.
The sad part is, there are thousands of children out there with cases similar to Justin's where the family basically makes up stuff just to get rid of their own child because they don't want the burden of having to raise the kid....its so sad we have these problems in what is supposed to be a 1st world country, we sure have a lot of 3rd world problems...and the system is 100% to blame....in other countries if a child were abandoned by their biological family another family simply steps up and takes in the child, here in the US its not the case it is all about money, and a flawed court system to decide, add to that a bunch of government agencies think they need involved in what's best for the child...yet they're typically where the problem with the child started to begin with. the system is so screwed up its beyond pathetic....needs to have the system completely shut down, and restarted with completely new leadership.
Hes 28 now hope hes doing well
Not only did his family let him down but so did the state for not making sure 100% this really happened or not.
Why has he not been put in the foster system for possible help.
Where's Justin's mom? I just wanna talk...
I was locked up from from 16 until the age of 18 and I will tell you from my personal experience. I’m a Hispanic unfortunately unfortunately most of the group group inside of a jail are black and super racist I fought 22 times in 18 months because I’m Hispanic so yeah it’s not for the new generation
Does he not qualify for a group home? There are a lot of developmentally delayed young people in my area in group homes. I know this varies state to state
@@nancydavid6854 He needs 24 hour monitoring and they don’t have that kind of staff available in group homes.
It all comes down to funding. Someone has to be responsible for the bill. Luckily the detention center took responsibility. Now Justin has a forever home with his adoptive father.
He would qualify for a group home but he committed a crime that landed him in prison. This particular prison has the most suitable programs/ staff for his needs, hence why he's there. This was all explained in the doc.
If you watched to the end you would know that he didn't commit any crime. His mother lied to get rid of him. @@Bluetongue.
Why is he not on ssi that way the state would have access to money. And insurance programs that would help off set the cost. I have 3 grandsons who have done jaailable offenses but here they refuse to put kids with certain disabilities and. Mental issues to be put in a jal
So glad it turned out good for him!
This was an absolute miscarriage of justice and am egregious violation of human and civil rights. I'm desensitized to a lot but this was beyond heartbreaking to watch...
I’m lost for words 😢
My aunt is mentally challenged just like Justin and she is living in a house with others li!e her and she is thriving if this world had more heart like Justin and my aunt maybe we could all live peacefully and no child go to bed hungry or hurt now that would be a perfect world r but sadly I do,by think it's ever going to happen and my these 2 have a very long happy life
This is heartbreaking. 😢
For anyone wondering, I tried to look into it a bit more and it seems it was his grandparents who SAed him, I'm pretty sure. Then it says that they offed themselves. And yes, the reason why he was in there was because he SAed the two children. Those are the details I found, could be wrong idk but his crime is for sure correct.
@Bell. - As the producers of the film we would like to clarify some things: 1) No, the grandparents did not SA him. Mike Dempsey is saying they took their own life. Also, if you watch the video until the very end, you will see the postscript points out that Justin NEVER committed the crime he was accused of. We hope you will rewatch the documentary and read the ending updates. They give some very important information we think you will want to see. Thank you! ~Calamari Productions
Do we know what happened to Justin? 10 years have passed since this was filmed..
I’m sorry but I am genuinely disgusted how on earth did a judge or anyone within the court system not realise that Justin was incapable of committing the crime he was accused of I mean his intellectual disability should have been a pretty easy sign something wasn’t right and as it turns out the relative made up this whole story and got him put into what appears to be one of the most dangerous juvenile centres it is quite frankly despicable
They need to reopen the state hospitals for people who need it
Unfortunately one side of the political spectrum shut them down and decades later and has absolutely zero compassion towards anyone other than themselves because providing tax funded serviced to our people is "WOKE DEI SOCIALISM".
Vote for people that push for more funding into public services and vote against pro billionaire antisocial weirdos.
Not all of them there where a lot that were very bad places😢
The state hospitals were replaced by group homes so those with developmental disabilities can be part of the community while receiving the support they need. A lot of the state hospitals were traumatizing for people with disabilities. Staff was overwhelmed, abusive, and corrupt. There are a lot of documentaries about state hospitals that are way more disturbing than this one. People who were formerly in state hospitals have spoke out about the horrible conditions and lack of sanitation, s-assualt in exchange for candy bars, staff coercing patients to assault each other, etc. Group homes are a much better alternative.
This kid clearly had a sh!$ childhood before this!
Unfortunately his wrong behavior gave him the world! ❤
Since the parent's didn't want him and lied about the crime(s) he committed, then why aren't they being held accountable both criminally and civilly? Why aren't his parents being made responsible for the cost of his care since they abandoned and incarcerate them for not doing so?
WHAT?! AT END IT SAYS THE FAMILY MADE UP OFFENCE TO GET RID OF HIM!
there is a difference in having a family and a difference in having relatives
How heartbreaking 😢
Would they have rolled out the red carpet of concern if he were black? Literally so many black boys in this same scenario, I see no one willing to help. $350 per day and a pool for this one tho. System is beyond broken
Omg....the ending....how could you do that to anyone let alone your own child...i hope charges were brought on the person for their lies
The instant he felt free the toxicity of the prison left him. Any human watching this that believes prison was the right place for this young man probably should never have children.
51:19 This part destroyed me.
Where is the documentation to prove this? @51:19.
The kid just wants to talk to his mom my mom died when I was young on the street.
That broke my heart
I cried so much watching this 😢
Makes sense that this crap would happen in Indiana. Absolute worst state in the whole U.S.
Very kind counclers❤
Being an unwanted child of garbage parents leaves you nowhere to go--Justin reminds me of my little brother, who wasn't adopted when i was by the "god-fearing" people who wanted to use me for abuse and servitude.
187 beds in the entire state of Indiana.... and all i can see is my brother's face, who was even less wanted than i was, and who ended up a criminal because in the 80s, the child of trash was still automatically considered garbage.
This is so wrong, Justin doesn’t belong in prison! Awful
Would you take him in?
@elmolewis9123 why do you go there? Is it to start an argument or come back with something sarcastic?😮
So Sad how his family just abandoned him
The fact anyone can have kids is scary a good percentage of people should not have kiss 😢