Interview with Jason Szanyi: Reflection

Biggest takeaways from Jason Szanyi

Jason Szanyi is a consultant with years of experience with justice involved youth and the legal system. His perspective sheds light on youth experiences within the justice system.

My favorite thing about interviewing experts in this field is the way that they shift how I think about incarcerated youth, allowing me to develop a more nuanced and layered opinion of the work that needs to be done and the way we look at them. 

For example, I had never considered or put much weight on the terminology that is used to describe those involved in the legal system. Mr. Szanyi talked about the word juvenile, calling out how none of us would call children outside the carceral system “juveniles”. They are kids. We call them children. Not adolescents or juveniles. That language matters; treating them as a different classification than just kids is a barrier to their reentry and growth.

Beyond terminology, his perspectives on how to reform this system is something I have spent a lot of time reflecting. 

His ultimate goal is that no kid should ever be imprisoned. Time and effort should be placed into creating and strengthening restorative practices that will aid their development much better than correctional facilities. The conditions in these facilities, where kids have to walk in a straight line and live in solitude, do not accurately represent the real world. How does that reduce their chance of committing a crime once they are released?

However, as he stated, we are a long way away from no child being sent to a facility. In the meantime, there are steps we can take. One is by managing adults who run the system; showing them data and testimonies from children to help them improve conditions behind bars and create a more rehabilitative environment.

Finally, his perspective on reentry was eye opening. Before going into this interview, I knew that there were many problems with reentry and that it is far from flawless. However, his articulation of what exactly is wrong with it and how we can improve it is something I believe everyone should listen to. While reentry looks good on paper, a step by step plan to release them and send them back into the community, there is a burden left with the child after release. They are being released from a facility with arbitrary rules and requirements, and sent back into the exact same community in which they faced challenges before their incarceration. 

Reentry isn’t just a checklist. In a just system, there should be a mentor or guide to stay with the child for a while after their release, encouraging them to make good choices in a way that isn’t formal or intimidating, but warm and supportive. A child cannot rebuild their life alone, and it is unfair to place that expectation on them. 

This interview showed me a lot about the imperfections involved with our carceral system, and how it actually plays out in practice. Listening to this firsthand account offered valuable insights that would’ve taken me much longer to learn otherwise!

I strongly encourage everybody to listen to this interview or read its transcript with some thought and an open mind, being ready to look more at the factors influencing why someone so young is sent to prison in the first place, and how we as a community can work together to uplift and encourage them to make good choices instead of shunning them and deeming them as someone irredeemable.