By Heidi Nuttall

Since he was 13 we’ve fought a never ending battle. How do you protect a young boy from the justice system – a system that, now, we as a family feel we must fight?

Why must we? Our understanding had always been so different.

We were the good guys. Parents, raising our kids with good morals and values. In a small town with good people. Then, before morning, on the 28th of February, 2010, our son became the bad guy and it was all distorted. All of the sudden, it wasn’t the good guys, it was just all bad.

Our son was charged with sexual offenses that started as child curiosity and developed into touching. When he was charged as an adult, all options closed for therapy that the juvenile system would have financed.

You see, our son is neurologically challenged, testing at 2 years younger mentally than his biological age. So we made a plan to pay for specialized treatment. Every morning, he and I arose at 5:30 and made home-made, whole wheat bread. We then packaged it a sold it to business owners, friends and family. This paid for each week’s individual and group sessions, with a wonderful counselor who assured us that our efforts would convince the courts that we were being proactive.

After 11 months his sentencing day loomed and again, his therapist was comforting. Her hope was that through her positive testimony, the judge would see that with restrictions, this young man could stay home, in the arms of his family.

It was not to be…

Our son asked for help and they gave him an adult burden. He asked for forgiveness and he was sentenced to 40 years and then sent 520 miles away from everything he knew.

It just doesn’t make sense!

Stuck in a system that only cares about the safety of the good guy, when a child is prosecuted as an adult and placed in a jail or prison, who is really good and who is the bad guy? It’s all rather fuzzy and just feels lopsided. Kids still need to be kids, even kids who have made some pretty serious mistakes.

For our son, the adjustment was very hard. He cried constantly which caused the older kids to abuse and mistreat him. Always anxious, the signs manifested in various ways; at 16 he began showing signs of schizophrenia.

Just today, as I write, and after a 7 year process of hoping that somehow there might be a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s still so dark. Today, at 21, our beloved son lives in the State Prison.

What kind of hope is there for him in the outside world? Where will he live? Will his life ever be normal?

He’s lost and the thumb of heavy injustice will sit upon his head until he’s an old man. A leper… wearing a scarlet letter. A little boy who’s spent his entire teen life in institutions and, really, doesn’t know what freedom is and honestly, I fear he never will.

I still remain hopeful…How can I not? Hope that laws will change and maybe even become retroactive so he can be with us again. My son does not stand alone!

In my country, the land of the free, young children are still being prosecuted as adults for crimes. With the knowledge we have now about child development and the teen brain, this should NOT be happening, nor is it conducive to the recovery of youth or for society in general.

Our message is rehabilitation not incarceration!

This month, October, is Youth Justice Action Month. As the days roll forward, you may see dedicated folks passing out information or conducting informational forums. Please feel free to pay attention and be open minded, and if you feel the spirit of our message, please feel free to join us….we need all the help we can get to STOP the laws that allow children to be prosecuted and imprisoned as adults.

Heidi Nuttall lives in Montana, and is a mom and a spokesperson for the Campaign for Youth Justice. You can watch Heidi's full video interview here.