“These are the worst of the worst,” a member of the victim's family openly states at the beginning of the film. “When Kids Get Life,” written by Ofra Bikel, a front-line documentary filmmaker who investigates the stories of five Colorado males serving life sentences for crimes committed before reaching the age of majority. This documentary gives viewers a glimpse into the perspectives of parents, child offenders, victims' families, and lawyers/legislators involved. We have recently been introduced to the workings of the federal court system, state court system, and sentencing, but here we can understand more about the system. We listen to offenders tell their stories and their views on being caught or put in a terrible situation with no way out. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Personal Reflection after Watching the Documentary Something that I thought was interesting is how, from the beginning of the documentary, Bikel places a heavy emphasis on confirming that the boys are truly failing to understand the nature of the crime they are committing. Bikel appears to have settled on the state of Colorado because the state had a progressive juvenile justice system with an emphasis on saving even the most troubled child. As defense attorney Maureen Cain said, “These courts were founded on the principle that they don't really care what the child did, we care about why they came to court.” The situation soon changed, with what they called "the summer of violence", in 1993. The community, in constant fear of being killed every time they set foot outside the door, reacted and this soon convinced the legislator to change the system . As a lawyer states in the film, “Young people who committed crimes as adults should be treated like adults. Since adults can be sentenced to life in prison without parole, the same goes for youth.” The legislation was amended so that prosecutors, not judges, decided whether juveniles were tried as adults. At the beginning of the documentary, a member of the victim's family says that these people were the "worst of the worst." The worst of the worst are child rapists, torturers, terrorists, mass murderers and others who have committed crimes so appalling that even opponents of the death penalty might be tempted to make an exception. From what we saw in the film, I would not consider them the worst of the worst, but rather hardened criminals, who our society considers extreme dangers to society. I say this because these young people's stories of extenuating circumstances are difficult to evaluate; due to physical and sexual abuse, terrible judgments, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bikel puts these men in a light where the viewer might see them more as a hardened criminal. According to Word Reference, this term is used to describe an individual who is so accustomed to a life of crime that it has become normal. “Rendered numb or numb; hard hearted” because no one leaves prison the same. The moment the camera focused on Jacob Ind's face, my immediate thought was, "He looks lost." To me it seemed like he was in a trance or some sort of daze, it seemed like he hadn't fully understood his actions yet. Something Jacob said in the movie also really resonated with me. When Bikel interviewed him, he stated, "All he wanted was something to stop." He goes on to say that he didn't understand gravity.