Text by Daniel Gwynn, Copyright 2025
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The Cell and The Yard
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My cell was on the second tier on the very narrow part of the catwalk. The door was steel, with a sliver of a window and a horizontal slot in the middle of the door for passing meal trays through, and my hands for cuffing. The cell dimensions were 8-by-12 feet reinforced concrete steel walls. The metal furniture (bed frame, stool, desk cabinets & sink toilet combo) was bolted to the walls and floor. A flimsy plastic mattress and pillow were stuffed with some kind of synthetic fibers were provided to sleep on. On the back wall was a vertical sliver of a security window framed by steel bars. The colors were drab and depressing. The cell, dark and cold, was provided with central air circulated through ventilation systems crusted with dust & disease, where if one person got sick everyone was at risk of getting sick.
I was in solitary confinement, where I spent 22 hours a day (Mon-Fri) eating alone, reading, watching a television I had to purchase, and teaching myself how to paint. My time was plagued by neighbors who suffered from mental illnesses that caused them to relive their horrible crimes. Some professing their innocence and searching for someone to believe them. Others were so terrified of being executed that they cried themselves to sleep. Some were so miserable that they wanted others to be miserable too. So they would bang on the walls or metal furniture in the cell all times of the day and night.
My cell was constantly assaulted by guards in search of contraband or those who just wanted to be an oppressor. Every time I exited the cell, I was strip-searched. There was no privacy to wash up in the sink or use the toilet. The guards wanted to be able to see me at all times. This is the excuse they used to justify keeping a security light on in the cell all day and night, disrupting my sleep.
I was very angry about what was happening to me. But instead of being negative, I turned it into a positive and armed myself with the education to fight back. I acquired my GED, Paralegal Degree and taught myself to paint. I exercised in that tiny cell to stay in shape and surrounded myself with positive influences that not only provided quality education but also lessons on how to survive. To alleviate the misery of my confinement, I would play Chess with a neighbor, hollering Chess moves across the tier or in the vents. Most of the time we were given respect by the other prisoners who would allow us to play. I chose not to let this experience break me. I survived.
The yard was a tiny space. There were 23 cages no bigger than a parking space lined up side-by-side in rows. We were enclosed with cyclone fencing for the walls and ceiling. Each gate was secured with a padlock. Two prisoners in a cage for two hours. Not very much room to walk, run, or even move around in. You had to be really cool to be in the cage with someone or out to settle a dispute.
We weren’t really permitted to bring anything to the yard. It depended on the guards’ mood. Sometimes, we could bring a board game, a deck of cards and maybe a bottle of water. Sometimes nothing at all. There was a prisoner yard worker who was permitted to bring out a toy box full of board games (Scrabble, Chess, & Monopoly) and boxes of Dominoes. There wasn’t much to choose from.
Under the watchful glare of the CO, the yard worker would walk from cage to cage passing out a board game, tissue or some contraband he was given permission by the CO to hand out, like a Ziplock bag to pee in. Once outside you had to stay out. You could go in to use the bathroom, but you couldn’t come back out. Most times, it was difficult to get a CO’s attention to be escorted back to your cell to use the bathroom. The COs would be inside taking a nap or playing cards.
Many prisoners would have a workout regimen with a group of others in the neighboring cages. Everyone would have their own version of the best workout list and would consult or critique each other’s list. We didn’t have any equipment or mats. Just the hard concrete. We’d use our winter coats or padded gloves to get down on the ground. When we didn’t have a coat, we’d use our jumpsuits. There wasn’t any pullup bar, so we’d string our jumpsuit through the holes in the fence and tie it off. We needed to stay in shape, maintain some form of good health because the food was bad, and we were locked down 22 hrs. Mon-Fri. No yard on Sat & Sun.
When two prisoners didn’t get along, they would sign up to get into a cage with each other. Once the CO went inside of the building, the two combatants would mix it up. The yard would grow eerily quiet while spectators watched silently, cheering on whomever was their favorite. The combatants were oddly respectful as they went at each other, not wanting to do too much damage to avoid drawing the attention of the Cos or medical. Once they’ve made their point, they’d pick up the loser, dust them off and go to their respective corners to boast about how they held their own or lick their wounds.
In other cases where they wanted to do some damage, they would smuggle their makeshift weapons to the yard (a piece of sharpened steel they found or toothbrush) and go at each other before the COs noticed. No care or respect for each other’s life. They wanted to do some damage. All of this violence sickened me, and I refused to watch. Some loved the violence and instigated the animosity or goaded the protagonists.
On a normal day, we’re in the yard holding intelligent conversations about legal cases, improving our quality of life, fighting the system, or playing board games/cards through the fences. My favorite games were Scrabble, Chess and Pinochle. Some COs would let us pair up in the yard with adjoining cages, so we could get a game in.
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About The Author: Daniel Gwynn is an artist and former death row prison inmate in the state of Pennsylvania who served nearly 30 years for a murder he did not commit. Since his release on February 28, 2024, Daniel received his CPS (certified peer support specialist) in the PA department of corrections. To access Daniel Gwynns amazing artwork, link here: https://www.danielgwynn197.com/
