The next day was Tuesday and Noah and I got up early to make the long drive to Pearl, home of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, the only prison in the state that houses female prisoners, including those on death row. Noah’s mother had spent the last five years of her life at this facility after her boyfriend’s meth lab got busted down in Monroe County. She was set to be released at eight o’clock that morning sharp.
We had visited the prison exactly once during those previous five years, the first Christmas after Kayla’s incarceration. After making the drive and getting his hopes up, Noah’s mother refused to see him and we drove home disappointed. Noah was four at the time. I’m not sure how much he remembers.
The guard at the main gates directed us to a special parking lot wh
