He had just turned 16, so recently that he was still in the habit of answering 15 when he was asked his age. When he entered the building he saw rows of cages containing not animals, but those treated as such. Criminals deemed too dangerous for society. “I don’t belong here,” he thought, “25 years. I don’t know if I can do it; wake up every morning in this concrete room, go to the bathroom in this concrete room, survive in this concrete room.” About 6 months into his sentence, he gave up. He decided he wasn’t strong enough and separated himself from his unthinkable reality.
Paul Marshall was never one of the true troublemakers among his classmates or neighbors, never the ringleader in the mild mischief caused by his friends, never the type predicted to have an ending in prison. However, when Paul Marshall was arrested, not many people …show more content…
He hung himself. Looking on as the boy’s body was taken out of his cell, Paul wondered if he would leave the prison in the same manner. Six months into his sentence, Paul started treatment for depression and anxiety. Juveniles were advised to go into segregation for their protection from other inmates at times. Solitary confinement has proved itself to not only be an ineffective punishment, but also a destructive one. Paul watched as men entered the Security Housing Units for a minor infraction and emerged more detached, more violent than before the days or weeks spent in segregation. Paul was a big boy. Even at 16, he stood at 6’4” and weighed nearly 250 lbs. He considered himself fortunate to be able to protect himself as far as physical and sexual violence went in the prison. For years, he survived.
Paul Marshall will be released at the age of 41. He will be released not knowing how to drive a car, go on a date, manage a bank account, or a number of activities learned in the adolescent
Paul Marshall was never one of the true troublemakers among his classmates or neighbors, never the ringleader in the mild mischief caused by his friends, never the type predicted to have an ending in prison. However, when Paul Marshall was arrested, not many people …show more content…
He hung himself. Looking on as the boy’s body was taken out of his cell, Paul wondered if he would leave the prison in the same manner. Six months into his sentence, Paul started treatment for depression and anxiety. Juveniles were advised to go into segregation for their protection from other inmates at times. Solitary confinement has proved itself to not only be an ineffective punishment, but also a destructive one. Paul watched as men entered the Security Housing Units for a minor infraction and emerged more detached, more violent than before the days or weeks spent in segregation. Paul was a big boy. Even at 16, he stood at 6’4” and weighed nearly 250 lbs. He considered himself fortunate to be able to protect himself as far as physical and sexual violence went in the prison. For years, he survived.
Paul Marshall will be released at the age of 41. He will be released not knowing how to drive a car, go on a date, manage a bank account, or a number of activities learned in the adolescent