After reading the article, my reaction is that it is very sad that boys that young have to be put behind bars. I think that children should be able to experience their childhood and have fun at that age. They should not be facing hardships at all. They should be playing with friends and be in school at that age and not locked up behind a cell.

It sounds like these boys had a really rough life.  I do think we all have personal responsibility for our choices at the end of the day though.  Even though you might have it rough, ultimately it is up to you to decide to break the law or use drugs or not.  So they had free will too and could have exercised that.  Regardless, it is still sad that they went through a rough childhood.  Nobody should have to endure that and kids are the saddest victims.

This is a tragic and sad story about how some children can experience the foster care system. Shelton bounced from one home to another, getting into trouble along the way, before beginning a life of crime and going to prison as a young adult and then as an adult. Given the way he was raised, it is almost impossible to imagine an alternate ending.