Shackled

In "Kids for Cash," award-winning journalist Candy J. Cooper explores the profound miscarriage of justice in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County, where over 2,500 children and teens were sent to a for-profit detention center due to corrupt practices by Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan. Initially viewed as strict guardians of juvenile justice in the wake of rising crime, these judges presided over harsh sentences for trivial offenses, ultimately revealing a disturbing pattern of bribery and abuse. Through meticulous research and reporting, Cooper uncovers this shocking scandal, deemed by the Juvenile Law Center as one of the gravest violations of children's rights in American history.