Incarceration is a concept most are unfamiliar with until they have to be. When this project was completed in 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that 13,687,241 people were arrested in America. This essay seeks to understand the change that occurs when a person is removed from society and confined to a world of small freedoms and hostil interaction.
An inmate flexes his arm while locked up in dorm B at Warren County Jail in Bowling Green, Ky.
Outside of the visitation room a deputy jailer watches inmates from the “pod”. Because the pod is the central hub of Warren County Jail and controls most of the main doors, only one person is allowed to be inside at a time.
An inmate waits to be put in a cell after having his finger prints taken.
Inmates pray during a church service before being let out of the library. During the service the inmates are locked with a pastor.
Deputy jailer Chad Whitaker searches a man who was arrested for assault. The man claims he did not start the fight which occurred outside of a bar after it closed.
Jailers argue with a man in the detox cell after the he repeatedly banged on the cell door.
Rows of cell door keys line the wall in the intake area of the jail.
Three men who have been arrested on DUI charges wait to have their pictures taken.
Inmates watch deputy jailer Leah Price while she performs a watch tour of the jail at night.
Deputy jailer Leah Price takes back the disposable razors given to the inmates earlier that day.
Jailers perform a search of a group dorm.
Jailer Leah Price looks through an inmates photos during a cell search. Inmates are only allowed to have six 5x7 photos.
A woman hugs her husband before she leaves him during their visitation. The couple sees each other once a week every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.
A homemade calendar is found during a cell search. Inmates are not allowed to have calendars, even if they make them.
A man who was arrested for assault tries to get a jailers attention shortly after being put in his cell. The man claims that he needed medical attention for injuries he sustained in the fight.
Jailers watch a video of an inmate who was put in a restraining chair the night before. The restraint chair is reserved for inmates who are no cooperative and prove to be a threat to themselves or others. Once in the chair they are required to spend four hours strapped in.
A Western Kentucky University freshman charged with a DUI waits to call her parents. She claims she only consumed one drink while having dinner at her parents house.
An inmate holds his girlfriends hand during a weekly visitation.