degree of physical interaction between inmates and their visitors. Though he couldn’t touch his brother, and give him a big hug as he had been hoping, Josh was nevertheless overjoyed at the mere sight of his brother.
“ Yo, Ben, how’s it going?” Josh said with unmasked exuberance. “It’s so good to see you! You can’t believe how glad I am to see you!” Unable to actually touch his brother, Josh placed his right hand firmly against the partition in order to be as near to his brother as possible.
“I’m doing well. But what about you – are you doing ok?” Ben replied with similar enthusiasm. He reciprocated Josh’s greeting by placing his own hand up against the glass partition, on the opposite side of the glass from where Josh’s hand still remained.
The two brothers visited for the next half hour. They talked about jail-life, and Josh’s charges, and family news, and whatever else came to their minds. Towards the end of the visit, Josh brought up a topic of conversation that had been bothering him ever since he’d met with his attorney.
“Hey, Ben, there’s something I want to ask you to do. I talked to my attorney several days ago, and he mentioned something about private investigators. Do you think you could do a little snoop’n around for me?” Josh proceeded to explain his situation, and what he hoped to learn by having Ben snoop around. He ended his request by strenuously demanding that if he decided to help, he must be extremely cautious and discreet.
Ben agreed to help.
A few minutes later, the visit ended. Josh watched as Ben departed through the “visitor-door” on the other side of the room, and then a few seconds later he, himself, left through the “inmate-door.” As he trudged back to his bunk, Josh experienced a range of emotions. On the one hand, he was very sad to see Ben leave. On the other hand, however, he was both grateful and hopeful.
CHAPTER SIX
Stuart Co. Jail, the Hole
1 September, 2:51 PM
STILL IN the Hole, Edward was stirred from his bed by a dinging sound. With nothing better to do, he got up and walked over to the door of the cell. Through the window, he could see a commotion in another cell which wasn’t too far away.
The door was open, and an inmate appeared to be convulsing on the floor. Two COs knelt over him, and were doing their best to keep him from banging his head against the wall or the floor. Moments later, a whole cadre of medical personnel showed up to offer assistance. The two COs quickly moved to the side, and two nurses moved in close to the inmate to begin an assessment. Because of the inmate’s movements, they were unable to do anything right away other than observe. They did, however, continue to take the necessary precautions to ensure that the inmate did not inadvertently injure himself as he seized on the floor. The seizing lasted for a few minutes. When the violent movements in his legs and arms had subsided, the nurses moved in again to check for vital signs.
Edward was fascinated by what he observed. This was, after all, the most stimulation his senses had experienced in several days. As he stood there, gazing out of his 6 x 6 inch window, he noticed a number of other inmates throughout the tank with faces pressed against equally tiny windows. Everyone, it seemed, was desperate to see and experience the fleeting excitement taking place a few feet away.
After a while, the inmate who had been seizing was helped up, and into the wheelchair. The dinging stopped, and he was wheeled away. Within a few minutes, everything returned to normal – and the faces disappeared.
Edward considered his predicament : Alone – I’m – completely alone, he thought . Does anybody see me? Is anybody aware I’m even alive? Does anybody care? Edward backed away from the window, and returned to his bed. His thoughts continued. Oh, God, how am I going to survive
“ Yo, Ben, how’s it going?” Josh said with unmasked exuberance. “It’s so good to see you! You can’t believe how glad I am to see you!” Unable to actually touch his brother, Josh placed his right hand firmly against the partition in order to be as near to his brother as possible.
“I’m doing well. But what about you – are you doing ok?” Ben replied with similar enthusiasm. He reciprocated Josh’s greeting by placing his own hand up against the glass partition, on the opposite side of the glass from where Josh’s hand still remained.
The two brothers visited for the next half hour. They talked about jail-life, and Josh’s charges, and family news, and whatever else came to their minds. Towards the end of the visit, Josh brought up a topic of conversation that had been bothering him ever since he’d met with his attorney.
“Hey, Ben, there’s something I want to ask you to do. I talked to my attorney several days ago, and he mentioned something about private investigators. Do you think you could do a little snoop’n around for me?” Josh proceeded to explain his situation, and what he hoped to learn by having Ben snoop around. He ended his request by strenuously demanding that if he decided to help, he must be extremely cautious and discreet.
Ben agreed to help.
A few minutes later, the visit ended. Josh watched as Ben departed through the “visitor-door” on the other side of the room, and then a few seconds later he, himself, left through the “inmate-door.” As he trudged back to his bunk, Josh experienced a range of emotions. On the one hand, he was very sad to see Ben leave. On the other hand, however, he was both grateful and hopeful.
CHAPTER SIX
Stuart Co. Jail, the Hole
1 September, 2:51 PM
STILL IN the Hole, Edward was stirred from his bed by a dinging sound. With nothing better to do, he got up and walked over to the door of the cell. Through the window, he could see a commotion in another cell which wasn’t too far away.
The door was open, and an inmate appeared to be convulsing on the floor. Two COs knelt over him, and were doing their best to keep him from banging his head against the wall or the floor. Moments later, a whole cadre of medical personnel showed up to offer assistance. The two COs quickly moved to the side, and two nurses moved in close to the inmate to begin an assessment. Because of the inmate’s movements, they were unable to do anything right away other than observe. They did, however, continue to take the necessary precautions to ensure that the inmate did not inadvertently injure himself as he seized on the floor. The seizing lasted for a few minutes. When the violent movements in his legs and arms had subsided, the nurses moved in again to check for vital signs.
Edward was fascinated by what he observed. This was, after all, the most stimulation his senses had experienced in several days. As he stood there, gazing out of his 6 x 6 inch window, he noticed a number of other inmates throughout the tank with faces pressed against equally tiny windows. Everyone, it seemed, was desperate to see and experience the fleeting excitement taking place a few feet away.
After a while, the inmate who had been seizing was helped up, and into the wheelchair. The dinging stopped, and he was wheeled away. Within a few minutes, everything returned to normal – and the faces disappeared.
Edward considered his predicament : Alone – I’m – completely alone, he thought . Does anybody see me? Is anybody aware I’m even alive? Does anybody care? Edward backed away from the window, and returned to his bed. His thoughts continued. Oh, God, how am I going to survive
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