From The Marshall Project:
Steven Backstrom was struggling to stay awake during his shift in the prison shoe factory. The machines could be dangerous if you weren’t paying attention, and he’d only slept about 3 ½ hours.
Activity at the Clements Unit, a state prison in Amarillo, Texas, was always churning. Night after night, doors slammed and people yelled. Sometimes, staff delivered medications at 2 a.m. Many nights officers forced him to come to the front of his cell for a security check. The sleepless nights made him feel like scum had settled over his brain.
But he didn’t have the choice to skip work. The job didn’t pay, and if he didn’t show up, he could be punished.
That morning, he pushed the wrong button on a machine, and the equipment, meant to mold the shape of the shoe, clamped down on Backstrom’s right hand instead. Continue reading >>>
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