Hot Box

Overheating in the prison van is just one of many unpleasant aspects of life on the inside.

27/08/2018

In the time of slavery

They had the hot box

And while such barbarity

Is rare in this lucky corner of the world

You can still get a taste

In the prison van

While they ferry inmates

To and from court

For half an hour twice a day

Through four weeks of trial

I sat handcuffed

Claustrophobic and sweating

In a tiny steel box

Bouncing around during the curves and the bends

The weight of the world

Squarely on my shoulders

As I awaited the verdict

Of the most serious of crimes

With all that I’ve been through

It remains one of the worst

Of all the experiences I’ve ever had

Through all my jail time

Through all my life

—

The trip to and from court from the jail I was housed is a truly dismal experience. One of the lifers nearly died on a trip in the jail hot box and has never been the same since. If there were inmates from different yard some inmates would exchange insults between the different compartment or discuss the crimes and the court cases being processed at our destination.

Sweating in the prison van is just one of many unpleasant aspects of life on the inside.