Mercy for the Wicked

Prologue

I can't stand the sound of his voice. He's been singing "When Doves Cry" for the past hour and a half, still reflecting on the memory of his wife. I don't know which wife he's mourning over, since he had five wives throughout his life and killed every one of them . He's not shaking the jail cell bars anymore, like he did for the first month. Johnny's another one of the mentally ill in here, but some are drug addicts who need consolation. It's cruel that when people are struggling with alcohol abuse, they're slammed in here. They need help with their addiction.

The security guard asked me to keep an eye on the inmates for now, until he comes back. Mr. Rogers puts effort and care into his job, but he trusts me to take care of it. I do have a doctoral degree in psychology, after all. The degree wouldn't help me if one of these prisoners would attempt to break loose, though. It happens often.

"Maybe you're just like my mother. She's never satisfied," Johnny intones. People like him deserve to rot in jail, well at least I think so. There are some murderers and rapists who get dismissed or go in prison for a year, meanwhile someone with a D.U.I wastes their life away.

As I head down the corridor, I can't help but peer into the cells. I know a lot of the criminals here, such as a father who physically abused his two sons. His cell partner is a 19 year old with a D.U.I. This prison is divided by maximum crime, then medium, then minimum. There is a barrier between each one. So how did a teenager get paired with a domestic violence offender? This place needs to have better leadership, with consideration for inmates.

That's when I get an idea.