Sins of the System: Trauma, Guns, Tragedy, and the Betrayal of Our Children

by Regina M. Griego

Want a better future for our children and families? Are you passionate about gun safety and juvenile justice?

This is a story of courage and conviction as well as love, compassion, and hope.

In January 2013, Regina’s fifteen-year-old nephew shot and killed his father (her brother), mother and three siblings. She became her nephew’s guardian and stood by him through seven years of legal drama.

In this memoir, she recounts her extremely difficult and personal story that affected her large extended family and entire community. It is a tragedy about generational trauma set in the rich cultural background of New Mexico. The book details the failure of not only the Juvenile Justice System, but many other systems that undergird families and society including gun safety.

This memoir is both a warning and a call to action for families, communities, and our nation.

349 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 16, 2022

Reviews

[Martha Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regina Griego's memoir Sins of the System is the definitive account of an unthinkable tragedy. She writes with honesty and without self-interest. With this book she has made a valuable contribution to the literature not only of tragedy but of our American judicial system. Early on she tells her nephew (a child of 15) who committed and confessed to the murder of his father (the author's brother), mother and three younger siblings that the family would not abandon him and she never did. She protected the child over and above protecting the "image" of her brother. This was a child who said in interrogations that he "could not take it anymore." This is a cautionary tale of generational trauma with a complex family dynamic where there was lots of culpability and a community that did not save the child so that the child ultimately had to save himself. This memoir should be required reading for any prosecutor (civil servants) who is tasked with prosecuting a child on behalf of the "State". Had the prosecutors in New Mexico taken the time to understand (without bias and without the goal of winning a prosecution!) this child's complex story, would they have allowed the court to sentence the child as an adult . . . to be sent to an adult prison with a life sentence? This book should sit shoulder to shoulder with the masterpiece and cautionary tale Columbine by Dave Cullen.

[Elizabeth Aden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiple System Failures: Societal, Familial and Individual
Sins of the System is a detailed, thoughtful description of a high profile family murder committed by her nephew. She provides context and rational using generational and familial histories. Adjudication of the case is thoroughly documented. A key point in the book is society’s failure to recognize the brain as an essential organ that is subject to organ failure or compromise. And, like other vital organs, it can often be treated. Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment are highly variable and often idiosyncratic. The judicial system can deliver black or white verdicts. The story is a highly personal one, important for her processing of nearly a decade long situation. It is a book worth reading for anyone whose family has dealt with juvenile justice compounded by mental health problems.