He was raped by older boys when he was 13 and from then on, John was depressed. John suffers from low self esteem and has bouts of severe depression. He also has tried to commit suicide. He is a quiet person who just wanted to belong. He committed the robbery, because he was desperate for money to help his pregnant girlfriend.
Criminals become that way because of their poor training.
This facility feels that people can be retrained to solve problems without resorting to illegal or destructive behaviors. Why spend millions of dollars of tax dollars to incarcerate people, only to let them out into society, worse than when they went in. After all groups have presented their recommendation, the class will discuss the varying options. Each member of the class, will then assume the role of the judge and write an essay sentencing John and explaining the reasons for the sentence.