Beyond Scared Straight

Brandon
At the Conclusion of Production:
Brandon remains committed to changing his life. He has given up his gangster friends, studies with a tutor twice a week and hopes to join the football team.

Latest Update: February 2013:
Brandon achieved a Beyond Scared Straight first when he was kicked out of the jail tour for his persistent bad behavior. His mother lost all hope in that moment, but Brandon now says, "Getting kicked out made me realize it was time for a change."

Fifteen months after the jail tour, Brandon has started to make some major changes in his life. Not only did he graduate from high school, he graduated on the A/B Honor Roll and was named Most Improved Student.

Brandon hopes to attend college, and is currently focused on finding a job.

Garrett
At the Conclusion of Production:
Garrett has stopped smoking pot and is trying to quit drinking. He has enrolled in an alternative school. Upon graduation he plans to join the military.

Latest Update: December 2011:
Garrett immediately clashed with officers when he arrived at the Oakland County Jail "Turn Around" program. "I walked into the jail thinking it was going to be a piece of cake, but it wasn't," he recalls. The officers weren't fond of his lack of respect for authority, and they weren't afraid to get physical, forcing him to take a seat when he wouldn't stop talking back.

A year later, Garrett has made major improvements in his life. No longer living on his own, he has decided to leave his party lifestyle behind and is now living with his grandmother. He says, "After the jail tour I moved in with my grandma because it's a place, an environment, for me to be able to go to school, go to work, and focus on my priorities."

His grandmother says that Garrett has improved "257%" in the year that he's lived with her. He earned his GED and is now taking college courses. His grandmother is especially proud that he made the decision to change his life on his own. There was no pressure or ultimatums from her that Garrett must continue his education. He decided to do it on his own, and then made it happen.

Garrett told producers, "Right now I feel like I have everything together and I feel like I'm getting my life on the right track. I guess I just needed some structure in my life - something I never really had since my mom died."