Lullabies for Little Criminals

Baby admits that many of her most questionable decisions in life are a result of not having a mother; hanging out with Alphonse is one of those decisions. She says, “Every good pimp is a mother. When Alphonse spoke to me, his voice always had the same tempo as a lullaby” (186). He buys her gifts, and one day they get their picture taken together. Jules finds it and calls social services.

The social workers send her to a juvenile detention center. The detention center is divided into two sections: violent and nonviolent offenders. She’s put into the nonviolent section. She’s hurt that Jules would send her away, and she misses him. Baby reads to pass the time.

There is a brief time each night, as the guards are changing shifts, that the kids are unsupervised; this is because one guard on duty takes advantage of the time to molest one of the boys. The kids also take advantage of this time with a game where one youth is chosen randomly and forced to take off their clothes in front of everyone.