From The Marshall Project:
“One minute left!” I yell out to the 25 guys in the gym. I’m pushing them — and myself — to keep up the crushing pace of our burpees until we feel that elusive burn inside our chest and shoulders.
On this July afternoon, it’s 95 degrees outside, but it feels like 100-plus inside this barren box we call a gym. There’s no A.C. or even a fan blowing. There are no lights on, and the windows are near the ceiling, so the daylight barely finds us. The basketball goals are cranked up to the rafters and the bleachers are flipped up against the walls. As the last man lifts himself up off the floor, gasping for air, I yell out, “One-minute break!” The guys make their way to the water fountain in a hurry.
This isn’t a scene from your local high-school gym. We are 26 men living in FCI Allenwood, a federal prison in Pennsylvania. We are, without question, physically fit, but America has deemed us unfit to be free. Continue reading >>>
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