Comments for Matthew and the Judge: Juvenile Court Diary

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This piece belongs to the series "Prison Diaries"

Produced by Joe Richman/Radio Diaries

Other pieces by Radio Diaries

Summary: One year ago, Judge Jeremiah, a Rhode Island juvenile court judge, and Matthew, a 16-year-old repeat offender, were given tape recorders.
 

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Review of Matthew and the Judge: Juvenile Court Diary

It's a privilege to be so deep inside someone's head and in this case,
inside the heads of two people on opposite sides of "the bar." I like the
way the material is organized. We meet Matthew first and get a sense of him
before we actually know everything he's done wrong, and we get to know the
judge a little before we hear them together. It's very moving to hear the judge's journey from compassionate hope to resigned disappointment, and to hear Matthew's parallel journey from hope to despair. I wanted to put my head down and cry as this piece drew to its close. Knowing Matthew is dead makes the close of this piece that much more heartbreaking. It's beautiful, respectful and could air any time, but certainly when there is big news on youth crime. sl