Ex-inmate recounts Jetson brutality

• By SANDY DAVIS
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Apr 17, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:15 a.m.

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Eric LaSalle served four years in juvenile prison for stealing his mother’s necklace at age 16 and giving it to his girlfriend for Christmas.

He wound up spending most of that time at Jetson Center for Youth, where he says he was beaten by guards and inmates on many occasions — and once landed in the hospital with a broken nose and battered face. He recalls other youths being raped, attacks by mentally ill inmates and frequent fights.

“It’s such a horrible place,” said LaSalle, now 21 and out of prison. “You feel hopeless and helpless every minute you’re in there. You know that no one is going to help you.”

The Advocate interviewed eight current or former Jetson inmates or their parents. Many said they were subjected to violence and abuse after being sentenced to juvenile prison for minor crimes. What follows is one of their stories.

LaSalle’s mother, Donna LaSalle, blames herself for landing her son in the system.

Though he gave her back the stolen necklace when she confronted him about it, she was worried he was heading down the wrong track.

“Besides taking the necklace, he was  ungovernable,” she said. “He wasn’t being respectful, he didn’t want to go to school. I’m a single mom and I needed help, and I knew he needed help. I thought boot camp for about six months would be good for him.”

A judge found LaSalle delinquent for the theft, sentencing him to juvenile life (until age 21) but recommending as an alternative a short-term offender program, LaSalle’s release papers show.

Punishment for a prior offense by LaSalle — simple criminal damage to property — was set to run at the same time.

“The judge said he was going to boot camp, and I believed he would be home in about six months,” LaSalle’s mother said.

Eric LaSalle said he was sent to the boot camp, but was transferred to Jetson after violating rules too many times. He ended up spending four years in the juvenile prison system before being released in July.

LaSalle admitted he got into fights and said he was punished for it. The fights, he said, were often hard to avoid.

Beatings, rapes, drugs
LaSalle said he was first beaten at Jetson after being sent to Winter Dormitory, a lockdown unit where inmates are confined for disciplinary reasons.