Life Lesson – Kobe Lee

Kobe Lee cleans the floor while squatting and is glad to hear the guard arrive. It is time to give her speech to the Board of Appeals. Despite being handcuffed and shackled, she has a smile of hope on her face.

She spent a lot of time preparing her monologue and explains how she has a 40 year sentence after driving drunk and running over people. When she became an inmate she lost her career, boyfriend and family. The guilty plea caused her to declare bankruptcy and the only thing she owns are the orange jumpsuit, blue polo shirt and jeans that the state gave her. She had to be strip searched before she received those. Mugshots were taken and she officially became prisoner 124557.

Every day, she goes on the chain gang from 9 to 5 and is tethered to the other prisoners as they march and labor. This is her mandated job until she is 65 years old. People honk and shout insults, but humiliation is necessary for a prisoner. They are guilty and no longer an individual, but a criminal who belongs to the Department of Corrections. She is to be locked in an 8 x 10 cell for the duration of her sentence and she gets to think about what she did.

She has no choice when she can shower, eat, or even when to go to the bathroom. This is how to be a model inmate and she is content with being only a number in the system.

The guard returns after her time is up and uncuffs her hands so he can recuff them behind her back. He leads her back to her tiny cell so she can ruminate over her dirty deeds.