Judge Mark Ciavarella is the center of controversy in “Kids for Cash”.
For one man to triumph over more than 3,000 opponents, each no more than a quarter his age, sounds like a heroic feat. But in the case of Mark Ciavarella, an overzealous judge in small town Pennsylvania, it meant sending thousands of adolescents to jail for typical teenage antics such as making fun of a principal on MySpace or unwittingly riding a stolen scooter. Using the post-Columbine panic to justify his harsh sentencing, Ciavarella initially endeared himself to the residents of Luzerne County until his actions began destroying the lives of many youths and their families.
Charmingly cynical student Hillary unwittingly foreshadows her youthful fate in “Kids for Cash”.
Having not heard of this case prior to viewing Kids for Cash, a documentary named after the ensuing scandal involving financial kickbacks, at least one teenage suicide and Ciavarella being sentenced to 28 years in federal prison, I didn’t really know where this story was heading. At first, we mostly hear from the parents of some of the victims of Ciavarella’s tyranny, as well as a few of the teenagers themselves. We hear about the shock of being shackled and shuffled into a dangerous environment with hardened criminals (resulting in teenagers being exposed to drugs and alcohol, learning to make explosives and other legitimately criminal behavior when they could have been preparing themselves for college and adulthood), and the sadness of seeing one’s children snatched away in such a horrendous manner.
Kids for Cash at first seems a bit one-sided. That is until we find out that Ciavarella was motivated by more than just tough justice, as he received enormous financial compensation from the builders of the juvenile detention centers being filled by the teens of Luzerne County. Kids for Cash gets really interesting when we actually hear from Ciavarella and his cohorts. At this point it is clear that the filmmakers are attempting to offer both sides of a story that ends up being tragic for everyone involved. While those affected negatively by Ciavarella’s conspiracy find out he has a history of such corrupt behavior, Ciavarella initially shows little, if any, remorse for his actions. But after a dramatic confrontation one grieving mother outside a courthouse, we gradually begin to see Ciavarella realize the affects of his actions.
High school wrestling star Ed is the most tragic victim of Ciavarella’s corruption.
Ciavarella eventually has an emotional breakdown on camera, realizing that even after destroying the lives of so many, he has nothing to show for it as his impending prison sentence looms. Kids for Cash also shows us where some of these teens and their families are today. Some have adjusted fairly well. Others still suffer from lingering effects including post-traumatic stress disorder or learned behavior/coping crutches that have resulted in additional jail time. And in the most tragic case, a high school wrestling standout resorts to the most devastating means of dealing with his depression. Even with justice finally being served for the oppressors, Kids for Cash shows that some things simply cannot be reversed and even with Ciavarella and others in prison, their actions will always haunt those involved to varying degrees.