
Shackled
A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town That Looked Away
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $9.45
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Beth Hicks
-
By:
-
Candy J. Cooper
About this listen
Here is the explosive story of the Kids for Cash scandal in Pennsylvania, a judicial justice miscarriage that sent
more than 2,500 children and teens to a for-profit detention center while two judges lined their pockets with
cash, as told by Candy J. Cooper, an award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
In the early 2000s, Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania were
known as no-nonsense judges. Juveniles who showed up in their courtrooms faced harsh words and even
harsher sentencing. In the post-Columbine era, many people believed that was just what the county needed
to ensure its children and teens stayed on the straight and narrow path. But as more and more children faced
shocking sentences for seemingly benign crimes, and a newly built for-profit detention center filled up further
and further, a sinister pattern of abuses and bribery emerged. Through extensive research and original reporting
leading into contemporary times, award-winning journalist Candy J. Cooper tells the story of a scandal that the
Juvenile Law Center calls “one of the largest and most serious violations of children’s rights in the history of
the American legal system."
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . .
- A LOVE Story
- By: Jason Reynolds
- Narrated by: Guy Lockard
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine. Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon’s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step…yet, they’ve starting talking about…that.
-
-
Fresh and Refreshing
- By Z. White on 12-04-24
By: Jason Reynolds
-
The Wrong Way Home
- By: Kate O'Shaughnessy
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kinnunen
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving. Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern thinks only about how to get home again.
-
-
Great story!
- By Loribz on 03-08-25
-
Bright Red Fruit
- By: Safia Elhillo
- Narrated by: Safia Elhillo
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet—until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she’s keeping a bigger secret than ever before—one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community.
-
-
The details
- By Tonayah Ellis on 03-02-25
By: Safia Elhillo
-
The Forbidden Book
- By: Sacha Lamb
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the night before her wedding, seventeen-year-old Sorel leaps from a window and runs away from her life, grabbing men’s clothes and a sharp knife. To keep from being found, she takes on the identity of Isser Jacobs—but it soon becomes clear that the real Isser Jacobs is a lawbreaker, a revolutionary, and powerful people want him dead. Sorel is drawn into the dark underworld of her small city, where smugglers, forgers, and wicked angels fight for control of the Jewish community. In order to make it out, Sorel must discover who Isser Jacobs really is—and who she wants to be.
-
-
The plots are logically crafted with meticulous details to support the story lines despite their complications.
- By Anh Dao Katrin Tran on 01-05-25
By: Sacha Lamb
-
The Enigma Girls
- How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II
- By: Candace Fleming
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, in four days time....That is all you need to know." This was the terse telegram hundreds of young women throughout the British Isles received in the spring of 1941, as World War II raged. As they arrived at Station X, a sprawling mansion in a state of disrepair surrounded by Spartan-looking huts with little chimneys coughing out thick smoke—these young people had no idea what kind of work they were stepping into. Who had recommended them? Why had they been chosen? Most would never learn all the answers to these questions.
-
-
The Enigma Girls
- By Angela L on 03-15-25
By: Candace Fleming
-
Ultraviolet
- By: Aida Salazar
- Narrated by: Alejandro Antonio Ruiz
- Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Elio Solis, eighth grade fizzes with change—his body teeming with hormones. His feelings that flow like lava. His relationship with Pops, who's always telling him to man up, the Solis way. And especially Camelia, his first girlfriend. But when betrayal and heartbreak send Elio spiraling toward revenge, he doesn't anticipate that a fight to prove his manhood and defend Camelia's honor will lead to dire consequences—or that Camelia's not looking for a savior.
By: Aida Salazar
-
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . .
- A LOVE Story
- By: Jason Reynolds
- Narrated by: Guy Lockard
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine. Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon’s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step…yet, they’ve starting talking about…that.
-
-
Fresh and Refreshing
- By Z. White on 12-04-24
By: Jason Reynolds
-
The Wrong Way Home
- By: Kate O'Shaughnessy
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kinnunen
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving. Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern thinks only about how to get home again.
-
-
Great story!
- By Loribz on 03-08-25
-
Bright Red Fruit
- By: Safia Elhillo
- Narrated by: Safia Elhillo
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet—until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she’s keeping a bigger secret than ever before—one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community.
-
-
The details
- By Tonayah Ellis on 03-02-25
By: Safia Elhillo
-
The Forbidden Book
- By: Sacha Lamb
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the night before her wedding, seventeen-year-old Sorel leaps from a window and runs away from her life, grabbing men’s clothes and a sharp knife. To keep from being found, she takes on the identity of Isser Jacobs—but it soon becomes clear that the real Isser Jacobs is a lawbreaker, a revolutionary, and powerful people want him dead. Sorel is drawn into the dark underworld of her small city, where smugglers, forgers, and wicked angels fight for control of the Jewish community. In order to make it out, Sorel must discover who Isser Jacobs really is—and who she wants to be.
-
-
The plots are logically crafted with meticulous details to support the story lines despite their complications.
- By Anh Dao Katrin Tran on 01-05-25
By: Sacha Lamb
-
The Enigma Girls
- How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II
- By: Candace Fleming
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, in four days time....That is all you need to know." This was the terse telegram hundreds of young women throughout the British Isles received in the spring of 1941, as World War II raged. As they arrived at Station X, a sprawling mansion in a state of disrepair surrounded by Spartan-looking huts with little chimneys coughing out thick smoke—these young people had no idea what kind of work they were stepping into. Who had recommended them? Why had they been chosen? Most would never learn all the answers to these questions.
-
-
The Enigma Girls
- By Angela L on 03-15-25
By: Candace Fleming
-
Ultraviolet
- By: Aida Salazar
- Narrated by: Alejandro Antonio Ruiz
- Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Elio Solis, eighth grade fizzes with change—his body teeming with hormones. His feelings that flow like lava. His relationship with Pops, who's always telling him to man up, the Solis way. And especially Camelia, his first girlfriend. But when betrayal and heartbreak send Elio spiraling toward revenge, he doesn't anticipate that a fight to prove his manhood and defend Camelia's honor will lead to dire consequences—or that Camelia's not looking for a savior.
By: Aida Salazar
-
Light Enough to Float
- By: Lauren Seal
- Narrated by: Shannon Tyo
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evie has just barely acknowledged that she has an eating disorder when she’s admitted to an inpatient treatment facility. Now her days are filled with calorie loading, therapy sessions, and longing—for home, for control, and for the time before her troubles began. As the winter of her treatment goes on, she gradually begins to face her fears and to love herself again, with the help of caregivers and of peers who are fighting their own disordered-eating battles. This insightful, beautiful novel will touch every listener and offer hope and understanding to those who need it most.
-
-
You’ve read this before
- By Pink Amy on 10-09-24
By: Lauren Seal
-
The Flicker
- By: H.E. Edgmon
- Narrated by: Kyla García, Suzy Jackson
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One year ago, a solar flare scorched the Earth and destroyed life as we know it. With their parents gone and their supplies running low, grieving stepsiblings Millie and Rose leave home with their infant half-brother in search of Millie’s grandma, a Seminole elder—who Millie knows in her gut is still alive, even if Rose isn’t so sure. Along the way, they meet a group of other surviving kids calling themselves the Lost Boys and their lone adult leader, who reluctantly agree to help them brave the hostile wasteland to make it to Millie’s grandma safely. But the landscape isn’t the only threat.
-
-
A Delightful Surprise
- By zamora logan on 12-21-24
By: H.E. Edgmon
-
A Greater Goal
- The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women's Soccer—and Beyond
- By: Elizabeth Rusch
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elizabeth Rusch’s A Greater Goal chronicles how members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team fought to receive fair treatment and equal pay despite the intense pushback they received from U.S. Soccer, the governing body of soccer in the United States. With a narrative that includes player profiles and vignettes framed from team member perspectives, A Greater Goal illuminates the work, support, and grit needed to be treated with equality in a world that often undervalues the contributions of women.
By: Elizabeth Rusch
-
Girls Like Her
- By: Melanie Sumrow
- Narrated by: Melanie Sumrow, January LaVoy
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A wealthy businessman is dead, and fifteen-year-old Ruby Monroe is in a Dallas jail awaiting trial for his murder. Ruby has no one she can count on—no one, except her state-appointed caseworker, a woman named Cadence Ware. In Ruby’s experience, that’s not anyone she can trust. Cadence is familiar with the cold reality of Ruby’s situation, even before Ruby was arrested. Angry and alone, homeless and hungry, breaking the law just to survive, she is the kind of girl no one wants to listen to, especially not the prosecutor who wants to put her away for life.
-
-
Outstanding
- By Pink Amy on 06-29-24
By: Melanie Sumrow
-
Road Home
- By: Rex Ogle
- Narrated by: Ramón De Ocampo
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One hot summer afternoon, Rex Ogle’s sexuality is found out and his father gives him an ultimatum: you can be gay, or you can live here, but not both—and you have twenty-four hours to decide. Rex desperately hopes for a reprieve that doesn’t come, and the following day, he leaves. With no place to go, he drives to New Orleans, where he has the phone number of a man he met briefly and kissed once.
-
-
Wonderful Author
- By Rebecca on 01-31-25
By: Rex Ogle
-
Dispatches from Parts Unknown
- By: Bryan Bliss
- Narrated by: Joy Nash
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julie knows it’s unusual that a professional wrestler runs a constant commentary on her life that only she can hear. But grief can be awfully funny sometimes. National Book Award nominee Bryan Bliss delivers a thought-provoking, one-of-a-kind novel about how to tread the line between moving on and holding on. Dispatches from Parts Unknown is for fans of David Arnold, Nina LaCour, and You’ve Reached Sam.
-
-
The quiet, tender side of grief
- By Anon on 05-19-24
By: Bryan Bliss