I was in the high security portion of Juvenile Hall yesterday working on an inspection. Each of the youth on this unit (all boys) had committed a crime leading him to be deemed a safety risk; most of them were charged with murder or attempted murder and many with gang affiliation enhancements. I spent hours there. I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of the youth, one of whom was drawing an amazing pencil likeness of a baby. The detail and realism were a clear sign of extraordinary artistic talent. The boy made it a point in conversation to point out the "whoopings" he had received in his childhood. He said that they beat them at school and at home. At the elementary school, the children were beaten with paddles with holes in the them designed to cause welts, on the bare buttocks, having to have their pants pulled down. They were also beaten at home. At home, they were beaten with paddles and extension cords. I didn't have the opportunity to ask whether this was an exhaustive list of implements used for this purpose, but somehow I doubt it was.
This is one of those times where my conclusions may be unnecessary for readers, but I might mention that additionally scientists have shown through MRI brain scans that, among many other things, trauma in childhood leads to left and right brain asymmetry, potentially leading the part of the brain responsible for creativity to become "overdeveloped", while the portion controlling logic becomes underdeveloped.
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