Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away

by Candy J. Cooper

Here is the explosive story of the Kids for Cash scandal in Pennsylvania, a judicial justice miscarriage that sent more than 2,500 children and teens to a for-profit detention center while two judges lined their pockets with cash, as told by Candy J. Cooper, an award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist.

In the early 2000s, Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania were known as no-nonsense judges. Juveniles who showed up in their courtrooms faced harsh words and even harsher sentencing. In the post-Columbine era, many people believed that was just what the county needed to ensure its children and teens stayed on the straight and narrow path. But as more and more children faced shocking sentences for seemingly benign crimes, and a newly built for-profit detention center filled up further and further, a sinister pattern of abuses and bribery emerged. Through extensive research and original reporting leading into contemporary times, award-winning journalist Candy J. Cooper tells the story of a scandal that the Juvenile Law Center calls “one of the largest and most serious violations of children’s rights in the history of the American legal system.”

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Abuse, Teen, History, Social Justice

192 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2024

About the author

Candy J. Cooper is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting. She has been a staff writer for four newspapers, including the The Detroit Free Press and the San Francisco Examiner. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, The Columbia Journalism Review and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among other publications. She has written several nonfiction series books for the classroom for Scholastic, and her essay on stepfamilies is part of an anthology, My Father Married Your Mother: Dispatches from the Blended Family, published by W. W. Norton.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is so disgusting about an egregious violation of the trust of the people. A pair of judges and some of their cronies built for-profit detention centers for juveniles, then manipulated the system to have juveniles sent to their jails. They ordered underlings to keep them filled. I was amazed at the rules they flouted to make it all happen, not to mention the 2+ million in kickbacks they enjoyed. In deliberately changing all these children’s lives, they did irreparable damage to most of them.

[The Bibliophile Doctor · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the blurb of shackled says —In the early 2000s, Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania were known as no-nonsense judges. Juveniles who showed up in their courtrooms faced harsh words and even harsher sentencing. In the post-Columbine era, many people believed that was just what the county needed to ensure its children and teens stayed on the straight and narrow path.

And I thought okay so there are people who think that punishment is right path for few kids, although I'm not of the same thinking but I thought I guess I can understand. But as I went deeper into the book and the shocking facts came into the light one after the other like blows, it left me breathless and claustrophobic.

Did this really happen, I kept asking myself. Making money on juvenile justice? By putting kids into jail for the most benign crimes, or even crimes would be a wrong word coz they were not really crimes to be honest. This was a total shocker. And it took this many years to smoke it out and bring it into the light, wow. Can't really believe it.

I'm left speechless by this whole book. These two judges changed so many lives. Not just 2500+ kids but the people around them. Can't even imagine how their parents must have felt. It is proven again and again that kids need support not punishment for their wrongdoings but this "kids for cash" corruption went on for years and nobody bat an eye. If we as adults can't look after our kids then who will?

Overall I liked reading about it but this book deals with some pretty dark and disturbing stuff. I just feel that it is written more like a non fiction book than a book with all the emotional turmoil which supposed to find its way with sufferings of these kids and their parents. I guess it will be okay for those who like reading it that way but I'm not habitual to fiction and I would have liked it that way.

It is pretty obvious the research and effort put by the author into this book. It's no wonder that author is a Pulitzer prize finalist.

Thank you Netgalley and Astra publishing House for ARC in exchange of an honest review.

3.5 stars

[Erikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn, this was CRAZY. I work in juvenile justice reform, so I know how incredibly corrupt the entire system is (kids don’t belong in jail. They just don’t.
Rehabilitation, restorative justice, and facilitating transformation into capable adults will set kids on a path that prison denies them. Most kids outgrow “bad” behavior and prison just teaches them new terrible things that will lead to recidivism. I could go on. I shan’t at this juncture.) However, this particular situation is just leagues worse than anything I have seen in Ohio (and were super shit about juvenile justice). This was referred to as “the Love Canal of juvenile justice cases” and that is aggressively accurate (and a fitting metaphor given it takes place in PA. For-profit prisons are a scourge for any age incarceree, but especially for children. You should not be able to make money off the back of a child’s suffering. And suffering is the exact word for it, given the absolute sadist of a judge this story revolves around. I don’t believe in prisons, but since they still exist, I guess I can say I’m glad he will live the rest of his miserable and hateful life in one.

This was very well researched and written. I hope many people will read it and find a passion for reform. Numbers have dropped since the super predator era, but we have a long way to go to create a healing and harm reducing justice system for our kids. And I have to echo one sentiment from late in the book: while these kids obviously deserve justice and I am thrilled their story got attention and results, would this have been the case in a primarily Black or brown community? 70% of incarcerated youth are non-white. All of the stuff outlined in this book? Happens so much more to POC. ALL of our kids deserve a chance to be better, regardless of race, and this type of reform needs to be more widespread than it is currently.

One star off bc the stuff about the coal mines was completely pointless to the plot.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd heard about the Kids for Cash scandal in the PA court system, but I wasn't familiar with the details. This is horrifying – so many young lives needlessly traumatized and undoubtedly changed by the heartless acts of two greedy judges. Among the "crimes" kids (often good, previously A-student kids) were sent away for multiple months: driving the wrong way down a one-way street, throwing a rock, writing on a stop sign with a sharpie. Not to mention, the girl who accused her stepdad of sexual assault and – instead of finding justice – instead was herself sentenced to a detention center for accusing him. What the absolute f*ck?! Other things that outraged me: the one judge was notorious for how random his sentences were, in one case asking a girl to count how many buttons she had on her shirt and then sentencing her to that many months in a detention center. Adding to the infuriation – one of the two judges used covid to petition for early release and is now serving out his sentence from a luxury condo in Florida. I think the court should show these two men the same mercy they showed countless children that came before them: NONE. They deserve to rot.

[Steff Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want to cry.

It is just absolutely horrifying to me that corrupt people and systems of corruption are not fought against in every way shape and form. The purely unjust actions of four men completely destroyed so many aspects of the lives of more than 300 children. And all for money.

It’s an issue far greater than many realize or even think about in this country, but I think a lot of us have an inkling of it in some form or another. It’s the very reason “follow the money” is a legitimate investigative tactic to root out the truth of corruption. It needs to be resolved.

The stories behind the corrupt judges, lawyer, and real estate developer that led to the mass imprisonment of literal children whose crimes were pathetically minute is nothing short of tragic. It is a complete miscarriage of justice that at least three of the men behind this plot did not suffer as much as their victims. Even the fourth, though still imprisoned, arguably has not suffered near enough. I’m furious just thinking about it.

It is a positive sign that reform to the juvenile criminal justice system has and is occurring and knowledge of how damaging the system has been is certainly something that needs to spread. Nothing can give these people their lives back and that is just devastating.

This country still has a long way to go, unfortunately, and I am grateful that this book references this fact as it relates to people of color. I would add, however, that if this infuriates and horrifies you, it would be important to follow the money of the most recent attempt at border security.

Ask yourself why that bill included a measure to change the definition of minor to include those we generally would consider new adults. Ask yourself why we are allowing the detainment of migrants to be handled by for-profit companies. Could it be because the government payout of taxpayer dollars to “handle” the border pays more for minors?

What happened to the children who faced the corrupt judge and system at the core of this book was wrong. And while it may be happening less today than it was then (if the numbers are accurate), the for profit prison and detainment system still exists in this country. It’s still happening now. Imprisoning these corrupt monsters didn’t take care of the rest of them.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Astra Publishing House, Calkins Creek, and Candy J. Cooper for the opportunity to read Shackled in exchange for an honest review.

This non-fiction book explores the "Kids for Cash" scandal of Pennsylvania in a coherent and streamlined way. It offers commentary from plaintiffs who were shackled and locked away by Judge Mark Ciavarella of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Youth as young as ten years old, sent to wilderness camps or detention centers with obscene serving times as punishments for extremely menial crimes. The punishment does not fit the crimes in these early 2000's cases.

Over 6,000 youth and their families have suffered from a cruel judge who swindles money from the system with his methods of forcing youths into detention centers for long periods of time. Many of these youths, now in their 20's or 30's today, have had negative impact on their mental health from the experiences caused by Ciavarella.

This book offers some photos of the courthouse and some of the youth who were locked away for menial crimes, their famies having to pay heavy sums for their children's detainment. This novel explores some of the history of the county and its hidden crimes, and explores how history repeats itself. This judge and his other accomplices made millions of dollars, unnoticed, for nearly two decades, before finally, a case was made against them.

This book is an excellent non-fiction work that can be paired with a lot of the Juvenile Justice novels and curriculum that is making its way into schools today. As an English teacher myself, there are plenty of chapters that offer some interesting topics for debate or Socratic Seminar. Youth are interested in this topic because of how involved Juvenile Justice has become as a part of the on-going civil rights movement. Teenagers should be tried fairly for whatever their crime, and the teenagers in school today have a lot to say about this topic. This book makes for an excellent pairing with other curriculum in the classroom.

[ashley marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is enraging. For-profit sales of children’s lives based off of the SMALLEST of crimes is unconscionable and these judges did it for years, taking in millions. Pieced together with extensive research and knowledge, Cooper shows how the lives of these children, their families, and their communities were forever changed. The narration follows the local histories and then we’re placed in Luzerne County, PA alongside “no nonsense” judges living in a post-Columbine, protect the children world. Using this as their model to build juvenile centers, Ciavarella and Conahan took advantage of families, poor education, and the communities they serve.

Serving time in harsh conditions, many of the children were sent to abusive and traumatizing centers and wilderness programs. Nearly all of these facilities were unregulated and in violation of the children’s rights. Cooper includes stories from many of the children and their families, speaking to the abuse suffered. Many of the victims suffered well beyond their years served. Families were torn apart due to the emotional, and often financial, stresses placed on them with these sentences. Many of the families targeted were people of color or families who were economically disadvantaged.

This book was extremely well prepared and shreds a light on something that is still a pervasive issue in the juvenile justice system. Anyone interested in how systems of abuse are created or to see how the justice system falls short in places, read this. It’s a fascinating and infuriating read.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Calkins Creek for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Shai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew about the Kids for Cash scandal and had watched the documentary prior to reading this book, however, I was surprised when I found myself getting angry all over again at how easy it was for these judges to take away kids' freedoms just to profit from this situation. This book gives us some of the kid's perspectives and it adds a different dynamic when you are hearing about something directly from the people involved.

I want to thank #netgalley and @astrapublishinghouse for this ARC.

I think stories such as these are so important to tell because when you hear about these cases on the news, you only hear them from the newscaster's perspective and perhaps do not believe it could happen to you and your family. Unfortunately, as these kids and their families learned, it can. The details in this text prove that Candy Cooper spent a great amount of time researching this topic.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the abuses that have been encountered in the judicial system.

[Jan Raspen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up in the town where this scandal happened, so it was a compelling story to me. I'm not sure if this treatment of it will appeal to teen readers or not, though. The book opens with the history of the Wilkes-Barre area, focusing on the history of coal mining, but I don't think the connection between that and what enabled the judges' egregious actions is actually that strong. Then there is a lot of time spent on the histories and personalities of the judges, which, again, was interesting to me as an adult, but I don't know that young readers will engage with it. I think the strength of the book lies in the stories of the kids whose lives were upended by these corrupt judges and the other adults who were complicit in their mistreatment. I wish there was more of that--more interviews with the kids (not just reporting on the same stories featured in the documentary or newspaper articles). I think that's what MS and HS students would respond to--hearing the heartbreaking stories of what happened to so many of the kids sentenced to juvenile centers for the slightest of infractions, learning about how they were mistreated at these facilities, and how the directions of their lives changed forever.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly heartbreaking, but absolutely worth reading

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given the content, it feels wrong to give this 5 stars, but I think the author deserves it for her writing style and thorough research.

A descendent of coal miners, I grew up within 2 miles of the Luzerne County courthouse and went to a public high school in Wilkes-Barre from 2004-2008 where we had a police officer stationed in the school. At the beginning of each school year, during the welcome back assembly, he always warned us to stay of out of Ciavarella’s courtroom at all costs. He went as far as to outline where the school property ended and told students where to go smoke because if you smoked on school property, he had to report it, but if you went off property, he could look the other way. He said what to do if you accidentally brought your knife to school after hunting or fishing over the weekend so he wouldn’t have to report it. At the time, we didn’t know the full extent of everything, but we knew enough that if you had to go to Ciavarella’s court for any reason, you were going to be detained. I didn’t give it much of a second thought. I thought that’s how all juvenile courts worked. I thought all public high schools (in the state at least) were having the same conversations where juvenile detention was normalized.

I was in college out of town when everything start coming to light and didn’t read too deeply into the details. I just remember not being surprised at yet another political scandal coming from Luzerne County as this came out around the same time that many county officials were being investigated for accepting bribes and using county credit cards for personal gain. Now that I’ve connected the dots and read more, I realized that the FBI audits that unraveled the kids for cash scheme are the same audits that unraveled the other corruption points within the county government.

I never connected the history of corruption from the coal mines to present day until reading Shackled. The way it was outlined in the book makes so much sense though from the history I know of the mines to the way the corruption unraveled in the county in the early 2000s. Bribes and embezzlement and “having connections” were the norm, and when that’s so engrained in the culture, you learn not to question it at an early age. Local citizens were conditioned to turn their heads because of the generational trauma and learned helplessness that prevailed in the community.

In hindsight, as a “good kid,” I never thought I had anything to worry about. But now that I’ve read more about the details of some of the cases, I’m damn lucky that I wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. My heart goes out to everyone who had their childhoods and parenting experiences taken away from them by Ciavarella. And if you’re reading this (and read this far), I’m also here to assure you that you were never a “bad kid,” and you are not a “bad person.” You are worthy of joy and love.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Black and brown y"Black and brown youths comprise some 70% of offenders in the US Juvenile justice system. In Wilkes-Barre, the thousands who had the misfortune of coming before the court were overwhelmingly white. Experts lament that a case involving mostly white kids received such widespread attention while similar, more numerous instances involving children and youth of color may go unnoticed. 'It's impossible to talk about 'Kids for Cash' and not acknowledge that we are largely talking about a white community.'" - ch. 15

This book infuriated me for the kids involved, but also for the ones who don't get apologies, class-action lawsuits, documentaries, and books written about the wrongdoing. While Cooper means well and I appreciate that she acknowledges that this is the case, parts of the book play into the reader's sympathies by highlighting physical aspects of the children involved. They had "thin wrists", "small waists", "blonde hair", etc. This immediately set off "you're supposed to feel bad because they're pretty white kids" red flags in my head. While it gets better over the course of the book, the way the early chapters are written is what kept it from being a 5-star for me.

This entire scenario was disgusting and unfortunately, no matter how much we may want to pat ourselves on the back, our justice system hasn't gotten any better. This still happens in communities with fewer cameras on it. For-profit jails shouldn't be a thing, period. It enables people to enrich themselves on the pain and suffering of others.

[Lindsay Armbruster]

Sometimes true stories are too unbelievable to be believed. This story is one of those. How does a local justice system get away with locking up kids and teens in juvenile detention centers at ALARMINGLY high rates? It happened...and perhaps happens still, as this journalistic look at the events happened in the early 2000s. That's not that long ago!

Nonfiction is not my preferred reading genre and this book's narrative style lends itself to being more fiction-reader friendly. There were A LOT of names and A LOT of dates throughout the text; I should have taken notes to more fully understand the complexity, but I did enjoy the book overall....even though the fact that it's real makes me want to vomit.

I recommend this book for those interested in justice systems; definitely a read for older readers.

[Tracy Shouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This nonfiction book is well researched and very detailed. It exposes the heartbreaking story of the “kids for cash” scandal that devastated thousands of lives in Luzeine County, Pennsylvania. The ability of two judges to wield the power to sentence children to wilderness camps and detention centers just to line their pockets with millions is incomprehensible. What is more frightening is the silence of the witnesses in the courtroom that stood by and watched as these children, some as young as ten, were taken away in shackles for committing menial crimes and mistakes. I can see teachers using this book or portions of the book to enhance their lessons and units dealing with civil rights and injustices. I don’t feel that a teen who randomly picks up this book will stay interested in reading it in its entirety as it gets bogged down in details and drags in the middle.

[Betsy Zimmermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartbreaking account of the Kids for Cash scandal that rocked Pennsylvania in the early 2000’s. This is the story of the group of four men who profited enormously off of a youth detention center in Lackawanna County at the expense of thousands of children unjustly sent to the center for petty crimes. Two judges, a lawyer, and a developer jointly owned this for-profit center and made sure it was filled to maximum capacity.
Beyond the grave injustice and corruption, the story highlights how incarceration creates criminals and costs the community far more money and has worse outcomes, particularly for children.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inhaled this in one sitting bc it’s an INSANE story. I love that the author wrote this book *for* youth given that it’s about abuses in the juvenile (in)justice system. Totally horrifying what CHILDREN went through for very minor offenses all bc of greedy adult men. Yuck. Overall compelling and well written. Parallels between the coal mining corrupt past and the present could have been stronger. I could see the ties, but just barely.

I liked the author’s last book about the Flint water crisis and have that in my middle school library.

[Liz Lengel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read because it is a reminder of what can happen when greed trumps what is best for the general population. Corruption happens all the time, and when it plays a part in the justice system, it can have a ripple affect that extends for decades. This real-life account of the dealings of two judges in a town in Pennsylvania left me full of anger for the children and families who suffered just so the local judges could line their pockets with cash. This is a stark reminder of what can happen when others turn the other way and don't question authority. I was a bit confused about the section of the book that took a deep dive into the mining history of Pennsylvania, but the author draws the connection in the end; however, I think the point could have been made without going so deep into that history. This was a great read, but it only makes me wonder what other politicians, judges, and government workers use their position for their own gain as everyone just turns away and says, "That's how it is..." This book is a way to allow those families who were affected to have a voice, but also a cry for people to look at what is right in front of them (like lobbyists paying government officials or Supreme Court Justice Thomas accepting luxury trips from a billionaire republican). Although these examples are not mentioned in this book, the theme here is greed, and we see it all the way to the top of our government. This book only addresses a story that touches the tip of that iceberg, but it's a great start to help people see and understand the way corruption can happen right under their noses to the most innocent among us.

[Kendra Purtle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is more evidence of the pitiful lack of accountability in our justice system. The sad and real part of this one is that it ruined the lives of children. What horrible people these men were, and what horror they brought on the lives of many before they were held accountable. The question remains, were they truly held accountable? Can they ever really pay back what was taken from these families? Do they even care?

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting YA nonfiction book about various teens and the harsh judges who doled out unnecessary punishments. I felt like this was a bit all over the place with each chapter changing topics. I would have liked one court case to follow chronologically, but still very eye-opening.

CW: incarceration, medical content, harsh work conditions, death

[Shannon Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew nothing about this, and I haven't seen the documentary (Kids for Cash), so I learned a decent amount about their judicial corruption towards juveniles. Pretty astounding what they got away with for so long.

It might be a bit dry for my students, but it's not long, so that's helpful. Might be a good book study for a government class or someone looking to discuss social justice in class.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book! Well presented and accessible for teens. But it is like watching a train wreck over and over with no ability to stop it. What these judges did to these children is appalling! And parents had very little ability to stop it. The injustice is heartbreaking! (There is closure for some at the end.) If you need a glimpse of what life in this country is like without due process here it is. (Side note: the chapter about the history of corruption in the coal mining industry in the area I believe is meant to be reflective of the corruption in the courts. However, without drawing that parallel explicitly it seems rather extraneous.)

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The things people will do out of greed is always astounding to me but even more so when it's done at the expense of our most vulnerable, our children. One of the judges said, "I did not consider the money that I was receiving to be illegal mob money. I was told it was something I was entitled to." That sounds very very similar to something I recently heard a border official say about $50,000 .......

[Kiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly disturbing. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that while thousands of children unjustly suffered and had their lives dramatically hurt, those who committed these heinous crimes get off with essentially/relatively no accountability or repercussions.

[Madisyn Bradeen-Curet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touched on the reality of our court system… or rather, corrupt system. The use of pathos was creatively, but memorably woven into the text. This book had me almost in tears, no child deserves to be silenced.

[em · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Quick listen, I didn’t love the narrator, she often made these awkward pauses in the middle of a sentence that kept pulling me out of the story. I also didn’t love the writing style I don’t think it truly grasped me except for when speaking about the true stories of the children and teens. What happened in these cases was disgusting and horrific, I have so much empathy for the victims and it’s sad to read that the judges still have a lot of privileges. I’m happy this was uncovered and those affected were given the opportunity to speak their truth. To me, this seemed well researched, but I also found it interesting that a lot of other media had already been created about these incidents from my understanding.

[Brian Seadorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning, heartbreaking, infuriating--all of these are emotions you will feel when reading this book. Are you looking for great young adult nonfiction? This is it.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and short. For such a short read, I expected to finish it quicker.

[Ms. Nigeria Nigeria Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow is all I can say...

[Fiona]

DNF. The writing is clear but really dry and I have read enough to feel outraged that such a thing was allowed to happen.

[Paige Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say this is a must read for people that are interested in juvenile justice. Excellent young adult non-fiction