8:10 pm UTC Jan. 14, 2021
BRIDGETON — Deborah Johnson turns away from New Jersey's largest prison, a behemoth of concrete and barbed wire, and waits.
She grasps the door handle of her bright blue sedan to steady herself and watches two white vans roll into the gravel parking lot.
Her oldest son, Ahmed Ismail, 30, lumbers down from one.
“Heyyy, welcome home! Welcome home!” Deborah shouts, her mask unable to muffle her rapture and relief at the sight of her son. She claps gloved hands in the frigid December morning air.
Ahmed’s arms wrap around his mother’s waist; hers stretch up — he's 8 inches taller than her 5-foot-3 frame — to circle his broad shoulders.