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The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 4(1)
BOOK REVIEW
Hubner, J. (2005). Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth. New
York: Random House
By Edward J. Schauer, Prairie View A&M University
Last Chance in Texas, written by investigative journalist, John Hubner, is a “must read”
volume for students of the juvenile justice system. Having learned of the aggressive treatment
program for capital offenders in the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), and its amazingly successful “resocialization” of young offenders, the author devoted several months to an in-depth
study of the Capital Offenders Program at the Giddings State School.
Living during the study period in the area of Giddings, Texas, Hubner became acculturated
to the flow of life in and around that farming town. While dining in the local cafes and while
purchasing goods in the local stores, he met and spoke with many of the citizens of Lee County,
of which Giddings is the county seat.
In his research, Hubner observed the process of treatment of three sets of nine students,
each group called a Capital Offenders Group (COG), through a one-way mirror. It would be
a difficult task at best for anyone to maintain scientific objectivity in observation, interpretation, and recording when faced with the horrors of their childhoods, the horrendous acts which
brought many of the students to Giddings, and the theatrical re-performances (This treatment
is usually called “psychodrama” or “applied theatre.”) of those childhood experiences and the
offences committed. Hubner excels at this task to the degree that this reader could visualize the
anguish and drama experienced in the COG treatment by the students, the professional staff,
and by the author himself.
Outside the COG meetings, the author kept in constant interaction with the psychologists
and counselors who were leading the treatment sessions. Hubner was in this way able to clarify
the what, why, and how questions which the reader might ask concerning student backgrounds,
relationships, and treatment.
In the book’s introduction, the author: gives a thorough background of the purposes for the
existence of the Giddings State School, which is often called “the flagship of TYC”; states that
the Capital Offenders Program leads the world in its success with reforming youthful offenders; and posits the hypothesis that extreme abuse or neglect suffered in childhood leads toward
the violent victimization of others by those so abused or neglected. Hubner states his amazement that Texas, which is known for its harsh criminal justice system, would at the same time
be the world’s leader in reforming youthful capital offenders. Through the next few chapters,
the theme is developed that a severely abused or neglected boy finds his strength in the victimization of others.
John Hubner devotes one-half of the book’s pages to “Part One: The Boys.” In this section,
he first describes how the treatment staff are able to identify those students who are psychopaths, unaffected by treatment. The key here is that boys who begin to develop remorse in the
COG are those who are deemed treatable. When it becomes clear that a youth is psychopathic,
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the staff recommends that he be sent directly to an adult prison—usually the Clemens Unit
(near the town of Brazoria) of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Unit.
On the other hand, when a youth successfully completes COG and responds well to counseling—that is, he works on his understanding of the past and builds upon his new understanding of emotional health and conventional behavior—the staff may recommend that he
be released on parole. Most young men who have been released on parole from the Capital
Offenders Program do not re-offend, do not recidivate; it is upon this factor that the uniqueness
of the Giddings’ program is drawing nation-wide, and even international interest.
Work with the girls in the Capital Offenders Group is more difficult to understand from its
coverage in this volume. This may be due to the fact that girls in the State School are different
than the boys. First of all, there are five boys housed at the Giddings State School for every
female student; second, antisocial behavior for boys is cognitive, whereas for girls it tends to
have a strong emotional element; and third, abuse suffered by the boys tends to have a definite
beginning and an abrupt ending, while the girls have endured ongoing abuse from an early age
up and to their institutionalizations. It is understandable therefore, that the resocialization of
girls demands a more complex intervention and treatment than that required for boys.
The author reports on the success stories, as well as a few failures, in the epilogue. That
most of the youth, female as well as male, were successful, gives the reader hope.
Last Chance in Texas is an excellent report of the Capital Offenders Program at the Giddings State School. The author, John Hubner, has displayed uncanny observational skills and
insight in his study and has produced in this book a valuable tool for understanding both the
needs of youthful capital offenders and a treatment modality which works. This work should
be recommended to all who desire to understand the possibility of reforming errant juveniles,
the probability of success, and the costs of intervention.