William Ecenbarger was part of a Philadelphia Inquirer
reporting team that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage
of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Once an international
correspondent for Reader's Digest, he has been published in the
Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian Magazine,
Esquire, Audubon, and other leading newspapers and magazines. He is
also the author of Walkin' the Line, a travel-history narrative
about the Mason-Dixon Line. He lives with his wife, a travel
photographer, in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
"A harrowing tale, lucidly told by a journalist with a good eye for
detail. . . . [Kids for Cash reveals] the deep gap between
cherished ideals and harsh reality in a country addicted to
incarceration." The New York Times Book Review
"The story is incredible: Thousands of children wrongfully
sentenced to juvenile detention centers, many without legal
representation and after cursory hearings, by two rogue judges in
northern Pennsylvania who received millions of dollars in bribes
from the private institutions’ owners. . . . William Ecenbarger, a
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, has brought this
stunning story to book form in a deeply researched, compelling
tale." The Boston Globe
"The worst stain (so far) on Pennsylvania, a state with more than
its share of stains, is that of the Luzerne County judges who sent
thousands of children to private prisons in exchange for millions
of dollars in kickbacks. . . . Bill Ecenbarger offers a
detail-packed, sickening account of the scandal and its impact.
Anyone caring about courts, justice or children should read it."
The Philadelphia Inquirer
"If only this were fiction. William Ecenbarger deserves our
gratitude for shining the brightest of spotlights on a tragic,
scandalous situation that brought pain and devastation to the lives
of countless children and their families. Kids for Cash demands the
attention of everyone who cares about justice." Bob Herbert,
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and former New York Times
Op-Ed columnist
"A chilling account of how two Pennsylvania judges traded
children's freedom for personal profit while the rest of the
Commonwealth looked the other way. Parents will tuck their children
in a bit tighter after reading this true-crime heart-stopper."
Nell Bernstein, award-winning journalist and author of All Alone
in the World: Children of the Incarcerated
"William Ecenbarger exposes Pennsylvania’s recent juvenile justice
disgrace wherein thousands of youth were illegally sentenced to a
private detention facility in exchange for millions in kickbacks
for the judges who sentenced them. His heartfelt, articulate
outrage raises disturbing and critical questions about the
destructive power of greed in our criminal justice system, and the
legal and social systems that support it through silent
acquiescence."Tara Herivel, attorney, author and co-editor of
Prison Profiteers: Who Makes Money from Mass Incarceration and
Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor
"A gripping and inspirational 'must read' for anyone concerned
about the health and well-being of children." Liz Ryan, President
and CEO of Campaign for Youth Justice
"A gripping story of judicial incompetence, a system that ignored
it, and the thousands of kids scarred for lifea story that begs
for juvenile justice reform across America." Steven C. Teske,
Chief Judge, Juvenile Court of Clayton County, GA, author of Reform
Juvenile Justice Now
"An unimaginable story of abuse, greed, and corruption that also
reveals the broader problems with our society's failure to protect
some of its most vulnerable, powerless, and at-risk membersa
critically important book." Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive
director of the Equal Justice Initiative, New York University
Professor of Clinical Law
"This exposé of judicial indiscretion, greed, and money laundering
reads like a thriller. The setting is the Luzerne County, PA,
juvenile court system between 2003 and 2008, when two judges
mishandled the criminal cases of thousands of children. After
presenting a rather unflattering history of the region, citing a
culture of corruption,’ Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist
[William] Ecenbarger describes the background and criminal
activities that form the heart of the case. The book is based on
200 interviews and reflects the author’s insider knowledge of the
scandal, which he covered for the Philadelphia Enquirer. . . . A
solid, shocking work of investigative journalism, recommended for
civic-minded general readers and students of juvenile justice
issues."
Library Journal
Ask a Question About this Product More... |