📖 The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

In December 2000, the Baltimore Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship. The same paper also ran a series of articles about four young men who had allegedly killed a police officer in a spectacularly botched armed robbery. The police were still hunting for two of the suspects who had gone on the lam, a pair of brothers. One was named Wes Moore. Wes just couldn't shake off the unsettling coincidence, or the inkling that the two shared much more than space in the same newspaper. After following the story of the robbery, the manhunt, and the trial to its conclusion, he wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter tentatively asked the questions that had been haunting him: Who are you? How did this happen? The book is interesting for its authentic view of young black men growing up in poverty. It confirms the statistical theory that every dollar spent on youth programs saves ten dollars in police, prisons, and other societal costs. If there had been enough of a diversion program to steer bad Wes and his brother, they both could have been saved. Instead, taxpayers will spend millions to keep them in prison, not to mention the destruction of their lives and their victims.

2000年12月,《巴尔的摩太阳报》刊登了一篇关于韦斯·摩尔的小报道,韦斯·摩尔是一名刚刚获得罗德奖学金的当地学生。 同一份报纸还发表了一系列关于四名年轻人的文章,据称他们在一次极其拙劣的武装抢劫中杀死了一名警察。 警方仍在追捕两名逃亡嫌疑人,他们是一对兄弟。 其中一位名叫韦斯·摩尔。 韦斯无法摆脱这个令人不安的巧合,也无法摆脱两人分享的不仅仅是同一份报纸上的空间的暗示。 在讲述了抢劫、追捕和审判的故事后,他给另一个韦斯写了一封信,韦斯现在是一名被定罪的杀人犯,正在服无期徒刑,不得假释。 他的信试探性地问了一直困扰着他的问题:你是谁? 这怎么发生的? 这本书很有趣,因为它对年轻黑人在贫困中成长的真实看法。 它证实了统计理论,即在青少年项目上花费的每一美元可以节省 10 美元的警察、监狱和其他社会费用。 如果有足够的转移计划来引导坏韦斯和他的兄弟,他们俩都可以得救。 相反,纳税人将花费数百万美元将他们关进监狱,更不用说他们的生命和受害者的毁灭了。