States of Delinquency: Race and Science in the Making of California's Juvenile Justice System

237 Pages·2012·3.125 MB·English

by  Miroslava Chavez-Garcia

States of Delinquency
AMERICAN CROSSROADS
Edited by Earl Lewis, George Lipsitz, George Sánchez, Dana Takagi, Laura Briggs, and Nikhil
Pal Singh
States of Delinquency
Race and Science in the Making
of California’s Juvenile Justice System
Miroslava Chávez-García
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the
world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC
Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit
www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2012 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chávez-García, Miroslava, 1968-
States of delinquency : race and science in the making of California’s juvenile justice system / Miroslava Chávez-García.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-520-27171-5 (cloth : alk. paper)—
ISBN 978-0-520-27172-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Juvenile justice, Administration of—California—History. 2. Minority youth—California—History. 3. Juvenile delinquents
—California—History. 4. Crime and race—California—History. 5. Eugenics—California—History. 6. Whittier State School
(Whittier, Calif.) 7. Preston School of Industry (Ione, Calif.)
I. Title.
HV9105.C2C43 2012
364.3609794—dc23
2011033524
Manufactured in the United States of America
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed
this book on Rolland Enviro100, a 100% post-consumer fiber paper that is FSC certified, deinked, processed chlorine-free, and
manufactured with renewable biogas energy. It is acid-free and EcoLogo certified.
To my children, Eliana Aliyah García and Evan
Abraham García, and to the youths in this study.
Thank you for your inspiration.
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Anne G. Lipow
Endowment Fund for Social Justice and Human Rights of the University of California
Press Foundation, which was established by Stephen M. Silberstein.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Building Juvenile Justice Institutions in California
2. Fred C. Nelles: Innovative Reformer, Conservative Eugenicist
3. Mildred S. Covert: Eugenics Fieldworker, Racial Pathologist
4. Cristobal, Fred, Tony, and Albert M.: Specimens in Scientific Research and Race
Betterment
5. Otto H. Close: Promising Leader, Complacent Bureaucrat
6. The Legacy of Benny Moreno and Edward Leiva: “Defective Delinquents” or Tragic
Heroes?
Epilogue: Recovering Youths’ Voices
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
1. Fred C. Nelles
2. Pedro C.
3. Victor R.
4. John A.
5. Fred O. Butler
6. Family History Tree
7. Sonoma State Home
8. Solitary Confinement Units of the Lost Privilege Cottage
9. Edward Leiva
10. Ben B. Lindsey
11. Leiva Family
12. Frank Aguirre
Acknowledgments
This book represents the collective effort of the many people who shared their knowledge and
spared their time in helping me weave these stories. Among those who played critical roles is
the brilliant Alexandra M. Stern, whose guidance, patience, and generosity in the early stages
of this project steered me in the right direction. Norm Skonovd, a sociologist, professor, and
employee of the Department of Corrections provided great insight on the Fred C. Nelles
School for Boys (formerly Whittier State School) and piqued my curiosity in searching for
more details and nuances of the institution. Equally supportive and adept colleagues who
provided significant feedback at various points include Sunaina Maira, Tony Platt, Vicki Ruiz,
and Steven S. Schlossman.
I am particularly grateful to those colleagues who took time from their busy schedules to
hear and/or read parts of my work and provide feedback. They include Sasha Abramsky, Al
Camarillo, Ernesto Chávez, Nathaniel Deutsch, Marta Gutman, Anne Meis Knupfer, Sunaina
Maira, Paula Moya, Tony Platt, Vicki Ruiz, Norm Skonovd, Alexandra M. Stern, and Rashad
Shabazz. I also had the great fortune of participating in several important symposiums on
eugenics, imprisonment, and delinquency, including “From Eugenics to Designer Babies:
Engineering the California Dream,” held at California State University–Sacramento in 2005;
“Incarcerations and Detentions,” organized at the University of California–Los Angeles in
2010; “Writing Policing and Punishment into Modern U.S. History,” held at Rutgers University
in 2010; and “Juvenile Delinquency in Comparative (East-West) Contexts,” organized at
Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Those experiences—and the individuals who
participated—contributed to this project by helping me to think in new ways about
delinquency, youth, race, and science. Thank you, too, in particular to Alex Wellerstein, a
graduate student at Harvard University, who shared his writing and resources on Sonoma State
Home.
In creating this work, I also had the opportunity to collaborate and share resources with
many other smart colleagues who have taught me a lot about race, class, gender, psychology,
eugenics, and juvenile justice. They include William “Bill” Bush, William “Bill” Deverell,
Yvette Flores, Milmon Harrison, Laura Mihailoff, Natalia Molina, Tamara Myers, Judith R.
Raftery, Eddie Salas, and Geoff Ward. David M. Hernandez merits particular praise for his
fabulous suggestion for the title of this book.
My colleagues and former students also deserve a million thanks for their support
throughout this process. My colleagues in the Chicana/o Studies Department at UC Davis merit
praise for their patience in allowing me to steal time away from teaching and service to focus
on my research. Lorena Marquez, a former doctoral student and recent Ph.D., warrants mil
gracias for her unflagging support and generous ear. Many undergraduate students at UC Davis
also contributed to this project. Research assistants Liliana Madrid, Dominique “Niki”