Today I went to Juvenile Court at 9 AM for the trial of the second boy who broke into my house. Prior to going to court I wrote in my prayer journal about how I wanted things to turn out.  Leading up to today, I was worried that the second boy would get off without being punished. The first boy had already pleaded guilty to Residential Burglary (a felony) a month prior and was supposed to be sentenced on Monday. He had an extensive record and was already on probation. They postponed his sentencing because his probation officer wasn't able to show up.  After writing in my prayer journal, I was no longer worried about how things would turn out.  I also made a point to pray for the boys because they are only 17 years old and headed in the wrong direction. God knows if this was a child I know, I would be beside myself.

Since the boys were already in the police car when I came home the day of the burglary, I had no idea what either one looked like. After I checked in with the clerk in the court room, I looked around at all the kids trying to figure out which one was the second boy. There were a lot of families there and all the kids were black.  It was very disheartening to think that most of the crimes committed in Cook County are by black children! I waited for about 30 minutes and then someone from the State's Attorney's office pulled me into a conference room to discuss how I wanted to proceed. The second boy had no prior arrests and they originally had wanted to put him into a diversion plan. I didn't think that was enough punishment, but charging him with a felony didn't sit right with me either. During the negotiations, I finally saw the second defendant, and he ended up being a tiny boy who looked to be about 15 years old. I think I expected him to be some menacing thug with tattoos. We finally agreed to have him plead guilty to Criminal Trespassing (a misdemeanor) which carries a punishment of probation for a year.  I was also granted a restraining order for both boys ending when their probation is over. I was satisfied with his punishment and happy with how things turned out.  I pray that this chapter is done in my life and that I learned everything from this lesson I was supposed to.