In this talk, Michaela Soyer focuses on the life-course histories of thirty young men serving time in the Pennsylvania adult prison system for crimes they committed when they were minors. The narratives of these young men, their friends, and relatives reveal the invisible yet deep-seated connection between the childhood traumas they suffered and the violent criminal behavior they committed during adolescence. Soyer connects large-scale social policy decisions and their effects on family dynamics and demonstrates the limits of punitive justice.