Lawrence

Prison ID Number: 12-XXXXX*

What does your prison ID number mean to you?

“It means that I was going away for a very, very long time. It was at a time when I was super duper young. I went upstate when I was 19 years old and they shaved my head bald. I had these crispy new green uniforms. Showers with men, with a whole bunch of men in a room. Lice shampoo.

“I was in a foreign place. And on top of that, I’m going away for 27 years and what that meant. It was crushing. It was at a time I was supposed to be off to college. But there I was, off to an adult prison. That was a moment I will never forget. It was so trying for me. So tough to digest.”

*Not his real number.