The Hill Discovers 'Reform' for Conditions it Ignored for Decades
The Hill’s recent exposé of 'sex tapes and gladiator fights' within juvenile justice facilities paints a gruesome, yet hardly novel, picture. The article rightfully decries these abuses, calling for immediate reform. However, this sudden alarm by mainstream outlets conveniently overlooks decades of reports, investigations, and heartbreaking testimonies from advocates and former detainees detailing
identical horrors. It’s as if these issues only become scandalous when packaged with sensational details, rather than being treated as a persistent failure of the carceral state. While The Hill opines on the need for 'reform,' it sidesteps the more profound questions: Who benefits from these facilities? Why are such institutions consistently underfunded and overlooked until a salacious headline
emerges? The very 'reform' industry often becomes another revolving door for consultants and privatized services, frequently failing to address the root causes of systemic abuse and neglect that disproportionately affect marginalized youth. It's not just 'reform' that's needed, but a dismantling of a system designed to cage rather than rehabilitate, a system that has long been understood to be
broken by anyone actually paying attention.