Radiotopia.

From PRX.

From PRX's Radiotopia, this is Radio Diaries.

I'm Joe Richman.

When we give someone a tape recorder to do an audio diary, by its very nature it's a one-sided story, from one point of view.

But for some stories, one point of view isn't enough. Matthew Amasori

was 13 years old when he first got locked up for dealing drugs. By the time I met him, he was

16 and serving his third sentence at a juvenile facility called the Rhode Island Training School.

He and the other kids called it the Ritz. Matthew was a smart and funny kid. The guards

liked him. They played chess with him. Matthew usually won. The thing is, everybody at the Ritz knew

that whenever Matthew was released, he was probably going to keep selling drugs. I gave Matthew

a tape recorder to document his life at the Ritz. He had already spent half his teenage

years there. At the same time, I also gave a recorder to Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, the Rhode Island

Juvenile Court Judge. His job was to decide if a kid like Matthew deserved a second chance,

or a third. Two people from completely different worlds, but by the time I met them, they had come

to know each other pretty well. Today, a story from two sides of the bench, Matthew and the

judge. My name is Matthew. I'm locked up. I got incarcerated for the first time at age of 13.

I did a couple months, got out. Stayed out for a little while.

Got arrested again.

Did some more time.

Got out.

Came back.

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