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Incarcerated teens find escape in music and poems composed with artists

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Incarcerated teens find escape in music and poems composed with artists


Residents listen as Sound Impact musicians play during the final performance of their three-day residency at the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center in Alexandria, Va.

Shuran Huang For NPR


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Residents listen as Sound Impact musicians play during the final performance of their three-day residency at the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center in Alexandria, Va.

Shuran Huang For NPR

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Jaylene is about to turn 16. But it’s no Sweet Sixteen. She’s among the tens of thousands of kids who wake up each morning incarcerated across the United States.

One thing’s clear for Jaylene: she wants to break a cycle that she says also landed her uncles and her physically-abusive, alcoholic father in jail. She’s due to get out in September after being booked for a drug-fueled, high-speed car chase and two hit-and-runs. It was her first time behind the wheel, she says.


A juvenile detention center resident plays tambourine in collaboration with Sound Impact violinist Anne Donaldson during their final performance of the three-day “Use Your Voice” residency.

Shuran Huang For NPR


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A juvenile detention center resident plays tambourine in collaboration with Sound Impact violinist Anne Donaldson during their final performance of the three-day “Use Your Voice” residency.

Shuran Huang For NPR

Music, she says, gives her hope for a better life. “At the time of my arrest, I was very heavy on percs [percocet] and fentanyl. And my withdrawals would make me become a person that I’m not, make the evil come out of me,” Jaylene tells NPR’s Morning Edition host Michel Martin. “Music is my escape, you know? That’s my therapy right there.”

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She performed spoken word as part of a group of 12 kids at the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center for a recent three-day workshop to write poems, compose melodies and play with six musicians from the Sound Impact collective. A larger group of 30 teens listened to concerts on the first day. NPR is only using their first names for privacy and security reasons.


A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident reads a poem alongside Sound Impact board member Keisha Johnstone.

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A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident reads a poem alongside Sound Impact board member Keisha Johnstone.

Shuran Huang For NPR

“The system looks at us as animals,” Jaylene says. “But I appreciate people taking the time to come in and work with us because they know we got potential. At the end of the day, we’re still kids, you know, and a kid is going to be a kid forever, no matter what.”

Jaylene, who says she loves rap and cites J. Cole, Nas and Lil Baby as inspirations, read the following original text: “Fruit of my labor, about to go and chase it. / In this life there’s no escaping / about to take it slow and patient. / There’s no need to go and waste it. / It’s basic, just face it. / There’s no escaping the matrix.”

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Sound Impact’s three-day residency culminates in a final performance fusing the incarcerated youths’ poetry and melodies with the collective’s live music.

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Sound Impact’s three-day residency culminates in a final performance fusing the incarcerated youths’ poetry and melodies with the collective’s live music.

Shuran Huang for NPR

Joint performances saw the young detainees read spoken word and poetry or play simple melodies accompanied by the musicians on a makeshift stage of artificial turf. Sometimes, the musicians would stand or crouch near the kids wherever they sit or lay on cushions, surrounded by potted plants.

Large posters of colorful, bucolic scenes – bursting with waterfalls and blooming rhododendrons – hung around the gym with plastic tile flooring. In a final performance, the musicians — a violist, cellist, flutist, trumpeter and two violinists — performed “Turn-Around.” Composer James M. Stephenson stitched together the piece based on short melodies the youths wrote on the first day of the residency.


Sound Impact trumpet player Amy McCabe speaks with a participant after their final performance.

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Sound Impact trumpet player Amy McCabe speaks with a participant after their final performance.

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Shuran Huang For NPR

“Music makes you okay to feel whatever way you’re feeling,” says Keisha Johnstone, a member of Sound Impact’s board who advocates for at-risk youth. She says interacting with the musicians and participating in the creating process helps these kids build self-confidence and self-worth to work through and overcome their past missteps and trauma.

“When they wrote that song and our musicians came behind them and started playing, they were like, I can write, I can produce,” Johnstone adds. “All you got to do is start planting the seed… and eventually they start to see.”


A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a marimba after his final performance as part of Sound Impact’s “Use Your Voice” residency.

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A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a marimba after his final performance as part of Sound Impact’s “Use Your Voice” residency.

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Another incarcerated young person, Aunner, shares a poem that begins with: “Awake, awake / cast away the darkness / which fills deep within / you are light, you shine the void.”

He says his poem is about finding light during a “very dark” time after he used drugs and got kicked out of his home by his mother. “As a young man, society tells you don’t cry and stuff like that. But it’s okay to let those emotions go. It’s better to let it out.”


A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a trumpet after her final performance of the residency.

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A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a trumpet after her final performance of the residency.

Shuran Huang For NPR

Aunner’s grandfather was a fiddler, a connection to music that has endured. “When the song is right, you get goosebumps and all that stuff is very beautiful, very beautiful music,” he says.

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Now, Aunner says he’s aiming to share his experiences with drug use because “I don’t want nobody to go through what I had to go through… it’s just not worth it.”


A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a viola after his final performance in Sound Impact’s “Use Your Voice” residency.

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A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a viola after his final performance in Sound Impact’s “Use Your Voice” residency.

Shuran Huang For NPR

Jail is a hard place to grow up. Federal data estimates the number of jailed young people at around 25,000, while the American Civil Liberties Union says there could be as many as 60,000.

“I just want to enjoy being a kid,” Jaylene says. “Yeah, we’re locked up. But also we’re building family, we’re building strength and we’re building a child in here as well.”

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A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a tambourine after her final performance in Sound Impact’s three-day residency.

Shuran Huang For NPR


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Shuran Huang For NPR

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A Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center resident holds a tambourine after her final performance in Sound Impact’s three-day residency.

Shuran Huang For NPR

The radio version of this story was produced by Ben Abrams. The digital version was edited by Phil Harrell.



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Virginia woman charged in alleged murder-for-hire plot

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Virginia woman charged in alleged murder-for-hire plot


A Virginia woman has been arrested and charged in connection with a murder-for-hire plot, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s office.

Gennevieve McGhee, 44, was allegedly captured via audio and video evidence in the meticulous planning of a murder for hire, the sheriff’s office said.

McGhee is accused of meeting with a confidential source at her residence in Ridgeway, Virginia. The source was acting under law enforcement direction and utilizing a recording device to capture evidence.

TEXAS INFLUENCER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT

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Henry County Sheriff’s Office charged Gennevieve McGhee, 44, with criminal solicitation of murder following an investigation that revealed her alleged involvement in planning a murder for hire. (Henry County Sheriff’s Office)

She allegedly discussed detailed instructions on payment arrangements and instructions for carrying out a robbery and murder.

McGhee is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony.

INDIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL CHARGED IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT ON SIKH SEPARATIST LEADER IN NEW YORK CITY

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Gennevieve McGhee, 44, is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony. (iStock)

McGhee was taken into custody by deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday and is being held at the Henry County Adult Detention Center with no bond.

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The case remains under review by the Henry County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. 

Additional information on the case is not available at this time, officials said.



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How to Watch & Listen to West Virginia vs. No. 24 Arizona

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How to Watch & Listen to West Virginia vs. No. 24 Arizona


The West Virginia Mountaineers (4-2) will meet the No. 24 Arizona Wildcats in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis midseason tournament for the sixth meeting between the two programs.

West Virginia vs. Arizona Series History

Arizona leads 2-3

Last Meeting: March 28, 2008 (NCAA Tournament) WVU 75-65

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When: Friday, November 29

Location: Paradise Island, Bahamas, Imperial Arena (3,900)

Tip-off: 3:00 p.m. EST

Stream: ESPN2

Announcers: Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli

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Radio: Tony Caridi (PBP), Brad Howe (analyst) Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College(Radio affiliates)

WVU Game Notes

– West Virginia was scheduled to play in the 2020 Battle 4 Atlantis. The tournament was moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., due to COVID, and the Mountaineers won the renamed Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.

– WVU is 45-16 in in-season tournaments since 2007.

– With a win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU defeated a Top 5 AP team for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Mountaineers downed No. 3 Kansas in Morgantown, 91-85.

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– Prior to the overtime win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU had lost six straight overtime games.

– This is WVU’s fourth trip outside the United States and Puerto Rico to play a regular season game. WVU played in Cancun in 2013 and 2019 and opened the season in Germany in the 2017 Armed Forces Classic.

– West Virginia is the only team in the country that has two players on the same team who averaged more than 20 points per game from last season — Tucker DeVries (21.6 ppg) and Jayden Stone (20.8 ppg)

– West Virginia is 201-55 against nonconference teams in regular season games in the last 21 seasons.

– The Mountaineers have posted a winning nonconference record in 31 of the last 32 seasons.

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– WVU is 265-99 in its last 362 games against unranked teams, including winners of 148 of its last 180 at the WVU Coliseum.

– This is the 116th season and 122nd year overall for WVU basketball, which began in 1903.

– Darian DeVries, who led Drake to six consecutive 20-win seasons and has a career .731 winning percentage as a head coach, was named the 23rd head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University on March 24, 2024.

– DeVries has a record of 154-57 (.731) in seven seasons as a head coach, including a 59-16 (.787) mark in the last two-plus seasons.

– This past August, the men’s basketball team went to Italy for a 10-day tour and won all three of its games against international competition.

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– West Virginia returns just 2.8 percent of its scoring from last season’s team (Ofri Naveh).

– The Mountaineers are led by a pair of transfers in Tucker DeVries (Drake) and Javon Small (Oklahoma State). Last season, DeVries was named an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention selection, while Small earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.

– In addition, Eduardo Andre (Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State), Sencire Harris (Illinois), Amani Hansberry (Illinois) and Jayden Stone (Detroit Mercy) will all see considerable action this season.

– Tucker DeVries was named to the 20-member Julius Erving Preseason Watch List, giving annually to the nation’s top small forward.

– Tucker DeVries was named to the preseason Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List.

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– Tucker DeVries was named to the John R. Wooden Award Top 50 Preseason Watch List.



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NBA Draft: West Virginia Duo Produce Big Numbers in Upset Over No. 3 Gonzaga

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NBA Draft: West Virginia Duo Produce Big Numbers in Upset Over No. 3 Gonzaga


West Virginia got off to a hot start at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis by knocking off undefeated Gonzaga 86-78 in overtime in their first-round matchup. The Mountaineers have received strong performances to begin the season from two upperclassman transfers: Javon Small and Tucker DeVries.

With each player delivering standout performances, it’s time to start considering them seriously as draft prospects.

Let’s take a closer look at their outings in this big win and dive into their seasons as a whole up to this point.

Tucker DeVries had a big game for West Virginia

Nov 27, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Tucker DeVries (12) drives to the basket as Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Michael Ajayi (1) defends during the first half at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Tucker DeVries finished this game with a stuffed stat line of 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and four blocks. This level of versatility clearly illustrates the type of player he is, as he looked solid in nearly every aspect of the game. He has good positional size at 6-foot-7 and plays with a very high IQ on both ends of the floor. His defensive impact was especially noticeable, as he consistently made impactful plays, including a steal that led to free throws to tie the game at the end of regulation. DeVries finished the second half on a 5-0 run, which gave West Virginia momentum to capture the game in overtime.

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DeVries has had a solid all-around season leading up to this performance, averaging 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, two assists, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks, with shooting splits of 36.6%/40.7%/81.3%. If he were to be drafted following this season, it would likely be in the second round, but his versatile play style is very promising.

Javon Small has impressed for West Virginia

Nov 27, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) shoots during the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Atlantis Resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Javon Small led the Mountaineers in scoring during this upset victory, contributing 31 points on impressive shooting splits of 50%/40%/81.8%. In addition to his scoring, he also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists and added one steal and one block. Small is a quick and slippery guard who stayed in attack mode throughout the game, translating well into fast-break opportunities. Rarely staying in one spot on offense, Small kept the floor spaced and forced his defender to fight through traffic to keep up with him. His offensive approach was patient as he waited for his defender to get off balance before attacking.

Before this game, Small had averaged 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, four assists and three steals. He leads the Mountaineers in points, assists, and steals, while providing a noticeable spark on a nightly basis. Small is now at his third school in four years, with similar statistics in each of his previous two seasons. As an older guard, it is not guaranteed that he will be drafted, but if this level of productivity continues throughout the season, he may receive an opportunity to prove himself at the next level.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.





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