Question

Mose was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. He lived in unstable conditions until the age of nine. His housing was inadequate and he was exposed to environmental hazards, including lead. His diet was poor until he was removed from his home. He spent the rest of his childhood in foster care. His health improved, but he was diagnosed with mild intellectual disability. Mose struggled in school and finally stopped going. He likes to work, but he is easily led astray, and this gets him into trouble. For example, local teenage boys told him he could join their “gang” if he stole money from the cash register where he worked and gave it to them. This led to his first arrest.
How might these challenges make Mose more likely to break the law?
How might these challenges make Mose more likely to be victimized?
What services might help Mose avoid involvement with the criminal justice system?

Answer 1

How might these challenges make Mose more likely to break the law? With the fetal alcohol syndrome, the learning disability, and the living conditions, from a psychological standpoint he has no home, no family, is with the wrong crowd, and has no examples to show him how to be a responsible man and has no one to motivate him. A study shows the overall average for prisoners had either as learning disabled or borderline learning disabled for the three sites was 32%. approximately 60 percent of adolescents and adults with FASD reported interface with the legal system, and 35 percent reported having been incarcerated for a crime. 30 to 40 percent of foster children have been arrested since they exited foster care. Over one-fourth have spent at least one night in jail and over 15 percent had been convicted of a crime. Not to put the kid down but as you can see he didn’t have much of a chance to begin with according to the study’s but he can change, at the end of the day I don’t think he really understands what he is doing is wrong and he needs someone to guide him and if he doesn’t have that I guarantee you he will continue to go down the wrong path. He has no family, no one that loves him, isn’t going to school, around the wrong people, wasn’t raised by the right family, he’s never seen anything other then the wrong way of life

How might these challenges make Mose more likely to be victimized? In court a Jury and the judge are going to see what went wrong in his life, a lawyer is going to use that as their defense which honestly isn’t a bad thing I personally don’t think the kid needs to be in jail I think he should be put in a rehab, sent to a therapist or someone that could help him

What services might help Mose avoid involvement with the criminal justice system? No services can keep him out of the system but they will help, unless they are keeping him in a program that he is at everyday and he is staying there nothing can keep him out of the system, he is going to choose what he wants to do at the end of the day, but he could for example go to like I said before therapy, rehab, if under 18 back to foster care, it would probably be up to the court if the company presses charges. I personally think a judge would not make him spend any time in jail, Juvie, prison I think they would instead realize that he needs a support system and needs someone to guide and help him, I know that’s what I would choose to do with him if I was the judge