“He summoned two officers, who went to Joe’s cage to unlock it. The cage was so small that when they tried to remove Joe’s wheelchair, the spokes on the chair got caught on the cage, and they couldn’t budge it… I couldn’t see Joe’s face while all of this was going on, but I could hear him crying.”
Stevenson 261-262
The prison was set up in a way that the convicts who are in prison for life stay in a small four-by-four metal cage. According to the guards, they are in cages for “higher security protocols”(262). This section stuck with me because the way some of the prisoners are treating is extremely unfair, especially to the children. In Joe’s case, he was sent to an adult prison at the age of thirteen for a non homicidal crime. It is not uncommon for teens to be sent to adult facilities and unfortunately, the teens are more susceptible to abuse and assault. Joe was raped and sexually assaulted multiple times. He attempted suicide quite a few times and also developed multiple sclerosis(hardening of body tissue). Because of that he was placed in a wheelchair, as we can see from above. The prisoners get placed in the overcrowd facilities and are neglected and abused. The only positive thing in my book is all the work Bryan Stevenson is doing to reverse the actions the State is taking.
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