From Wrongful Arrest to Anti-Prison Activist: Bryonn Bain’s Road to ‘Lyrics From Lockdown’
From Wrongful Arrest to Anti-Prison Activist: Bryonn Bain’s Road to ‘Lyrics From Lockdown’ courtesy of / Bryonn Bain
Content warning: This article contains use of the N-word.
Monday, November 25. Dawn. Bryonn Bain is one of several inmates chained together to board a bus to Rikers Island. Once on the bus, the men, rolling 12-deep, are told that they will be heading to a new location, Vernon C. Bain Correctional facility.
“A prison boat named after the white folks who owned my ancestors. Damn,” Bain says to himself. Arriving at the facility, he is ushered into a Manhattan criminal courthouse. There he meets with his court-appointed attorney. Having been detained for three days and two nights in a cell with a feces-clogged toilet, Bain is now being arraigned. Despite his resilience, he is weary and convinced that he will be spending yet another night in lockdown.
Last modified on Thu 11 Mar 2021 18.47 EST
Alison Croggon doesnât wish her sister harm. She dreads the thought of any rogue accident or illness that might drag her back into what she experienced as the poisonous tangle of their relationship. Monsters: A Reckoning is a tale of siblings torn apart by a shared past â one sisterâs wounded memories of the other. âHer suffering must always be much greater than the suffering of others â but what if it actually is? What then? No, I couldnât bear it,â Croggon admits. âWhat kind of person reacts like that?â she asks us, or perhaps only herself. âWhat sort of person is cruel enough to write it down? Some kind of monster. Me, it seems.â