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By Christophrenic
ISBN: 978-1-84991-776-6
Published: 2012
Pages: 57
Key Themes: Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Christianity, Memoir, Crime
Description
Christophrenic had a poor and disturbed upbringing. He lived in a South London flat that had plaster falling off the walls, broken furniture, no bathroom and his dad was a violent alcoholic who would often come home drunk and beat up his mum. His dad eventually grew out of this and stopped being violent.
Christophrenic started shop lifting at the age of 9. Aged 12 he started burgling houses and factories. Aged 13 he regularly appeared in juvenile court. Aged 14 he started stealing cars, and from sniffing glue and solvents he went on to regularly smoke cannabis and take LSD and also started burgling peoples houses whilst the occupants slept in bed. Aged 15 he first got put in a remand centre, then a detention centre and by this age he also started doing violent street robberies using knives, and aggravated burglaries where he would confront people in their homes whilst armed with weapons. He was also involved in cheque book fraud and started selling drugs.
Juvenile crime is a shocking and fascinating portrait of a young criminal.
About the Author
Christophrenic is a 44 year old Christian short filmmaker, writer, poet and film extra who suffers from schizophrenia. He became mentally ill in 1992, aged 24, shortly after he was released from prison after spending 8 years locked up since the age of 15, for money motivated and violent crime.
He became a Christian during his final year in jail but backslid on his release and then started to attend church again about 13 years ago. Since then he has studied filmmaking at college and university and met his wife Tina who he’s been in a relationship with for 12 years and he’s been married to her for nearly 9 years. He has two teenage step children, and also two young daughters.
Christophrenic has now written 16 books, of which Juvenile crime is the 3rd to be published.. He has also made many short films, which includes documentaries, dramas and two music videos, and he’s filmed many weddings, baptisms, plays and a wide range of other occasions and events. One of his ambitions is to one day write and direct a micro budget feature film.
Book Extract
The jailer came up beside me and I didn’t turn to look at my mum, or Melvin and his mum; I just let the jailer escort me to the back door of the court and as soon as I got through the door, I burst into tears.
They put me in a cell under the court and I remember that I kept crying. They let my mum see me and my female solicitor. I remember that all the court staff were really friendly and sympathetic, telling me I’d only serve six and half weeks of the three months, as half of the sentence was remission for good behaviour.
At lunch time the court jailors bought me pie and chips from the local chip shop, and I started to cheer up a bit. I knew that the DC van was coming at 4pm but at 3.50pm, I was suddenly taken back into the court room.
My female solicitor had felt sorry for me and, without consulting me first, had gone back to the court and lodged an appeal against my sentence. When I appeared in front of the judge again, they gave me bail and a date to appear at an appeal hearing at Kingston Crown Court, as Crown Courts dealt with juvenile and magistrate appeal hearings.
I couldn’t believe my luck. Just ten minutes earlier I might have been on my way to detention centre to start my sentence, but I was back on the street and, for the time being, free again.
I appeared at Kingston Crown Court several months later, and Judge Ellison deferred my three month sentence for six months, meaning that if I kept out of trouble for the next six months, my detention centre sentence would be quashed. However, if I got into trouble during that time, I would have to serve the three months DC. It seemed like all I had to do was keep out of trouble. But during the six months’ deferment I got into more trouble than ever before.
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