Firstly, his ‘impersonation’ of staff seems to have stemmed from actual staff previously having given him keys to various parts of the yard and to trains, and had him goign around doing the work they were too lazy to do themselves; that is, before they ditched the lad in the crap when the shit hit the fan.

I’d say that his deep interest in the train system (let’s call it what it is… a deep interest; obsession is an entirely different word with a different meaning in clinical settings) is a seriously good thing to use as a means to gain his cooperation in maintaining good/appropriate behaviour.

Given all the research that goes on in forensic psychology, it never fails to stun me how self-serving and irredeemably stupid the judicial systems of the world are.

It’s based solely on a thirst for revenge, rather than a desire to rehabilitate. Despite its many flaws, at least the Finnish system tries to rehabilitate educationally before getting to this sort of silliness.

BTW, Kristina, I’m hoping to get my Interviews article published soon, after which I’ll post the thing on that thread or another thread of your choosing. That okay?