“There ain’t no sky today.” James Gunn had been in solitary confinement for 9 months. The only way he could keep track was with the meals he got. The days blended together. The room was cold and black, with nothing to do except sleep and think quietly in his cell. He couldn’t speak. Last time he tried the guards didn’t let him forget it. The room felt cold, he could hear water drops from the leaky ceiling. They were his only company. The only things keeping him sane. Or maybe they were speeding up the process. He didn’t know, and honestly he didn’t care. He came into prison on unpaid parking tickets. Definitely not fun but nothing that would ruin his life. He was only supposed to be here for 3 days. But prison had a way of keeping you here. It wrapped its cold bony arms around and wouldn’t let go. Going to prison wasn’t as simple as doing your time. Once you were in, the hook was set.

10 months ago today everything changed. It was the second day of James’s three day sentence. He was a quiet kid who didn’t want any trouble. He needed to get out as soon as possible. The only reason he hadn’t paid those tickets was because he didn’t have the money. He was working 80 hours a week trying to afford his mother’s meds. He woke up before it was bright and went to bed after. McDonald’s by no means was fun but what else was someone who just graduated high school supposed to do.

On that second day in prison his entire life flipped upside down. The cell gates crashed open, it was time to go to the yard. James was still getting used to prison. He wasn’t aware of any of the prison customs. In prison people always tried to check you. They wanted to try and push you around and take what was yours, but honestly James didn’t care. He had today and tomorrow and that was it. If people wanted to push him around he could deal with it. He was almost out and he didn’t want to do anything to risk staying in here any longer.

In the yard a group of guys came up to him. One of the countless prison gangs here that James just tried to avoid. If anything was going to keep him in here it would be them. They asked him what he was doing on their bench press. James didn’t know it was theirs. He didn’t know anything about this place, it didn’t matter. He told them he would leave but it wasn’t enough. They weren’t looking for a turn on the bench, they were looking for a fight. He felt a jab right to the side of his face. A sharp pain to his jaw. One of the lackeys in this gang had just punched him. James still didn’t want to fight. He had done some boxing in his life so he knew how to defend. He kept up both hands trying to create some distance and block any punches to his head. He called for the guards but nobody came. He could see the guards looking at him. Why weren’t they coming over to help? It almost seemed like they were entertained. He realized his attacker wasn’t going to stop and he wasn’t going to get any help from the guards. He wanted it to stop no matter what it took. He just wanted to leave him with a mark. A warning that he needed to back off.

After his attacker did a wide swing he left his head exposed. James went in with nothing crazy, just a well placed jab. He hit him right in the temple. That was all it took. His attacker collapsed lights out. This was all it took. He had stopped the fight. His attacker collapsed hard; he definitely wouldn’t be fighting anymore. He was sure he would be able to explain his situation to the guards. It was self defense he had to fight back.

He looked at his attacker lying on the ground. He was in a deep sleep now. But James had been around boxing for years, He had seen his fair share of knockouts. This looked different. Something seemed off about him. When the guards finally hustled over they checked. He was dead. He fell and smashed his head onto the concrete. A rare case where the collision caused blunt force trauma to his head and he died of brain bleeding.

James collapsed. No this couldn’t be happening. He had to get out, he couldn’t stay here. The guards put him in cuffs and brought him back to his cell. James had a lot to think about. He was hoping he could explain to the judge it was an accident. The judge listened but it didn’t matter. Intentions were pointless when a man was dead. Manslaughter, he was sentenced to 10 years behind bars. His life felt over, his mother was going to die without that medicine.

James tried pleading with the judge. But to him James was just another criminal trying to make excuses. The judge was tired and honestly just wanted to go home. James never would recover from this. He was returned back to prison. All hope of a better future was gone. He had nothing, nothing he wanted to live for. James just sat on his tiny thin bed and sank his head into his hands.

After that James took a dark turn. Everything in his life was to help his mother. Now that he couldn’t do that. What was the point? He turned into a dangerous prisoner. Always looking for a fight. Soon enough he got put into solitary confinement, somewhere he couldn’t hurt anyone. The room was dark and cold. There wasn’t any sky today, and there wouldn’t be any tomorrow.