48 pages • 1 hour read
Out of the Woods: A Girl, a Killer, and a Lifelong Struggle to Find the Way Home
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Chapter 31-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of rape, mental illness, child abuse, child sexual abuse, child death, self-harm, substance use, addiction, graphic violence, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.
Chapter 31 Summary
In 1980, Jet was sent for treatment at the Western State Hospital, which began as the Insane Asylum of Washington Territory. The hospital always had a history of abuse, using its patients for experimentation and making false promises of recovery. At 17 Jet was the youngest patient there, in an experimental program designed to rehabilitate sexual deviants. Instead of getting help, he met others like himself, who taught him how to commit and get away with sexual crimes. Even the staff took advantage of their role. At one stage, one of the lead counsellors attempted to blackmail Jet’s mother into having sex with him, which gave Jet negative feelings about the program. He managed to get discharged by committing various acts of sexual deviance, such as masturbating in public and becoming sexually involved with his mother when she came to visit. When Jet was discharged, he knew he was eventually headed for prison but felt that was the only option for him.
Chapter 32 Summary
In prison, Jet would sexually harass other inmates and threaten to rape them in their sleep. However, he was evaluated, and it was determined he did not need to stay in prison. Once free, he would have to register as a sex offender, which he never did.
