Brian Connor looked at the cards in his hand and inwardly smiled at what he’d been dealt. He had two black Jacks, two red aces, and a red nine. He and his partner needed only one more point, and the game of euchre would be won. Since the person on his right had dealt and turned up a black 10, victory was guaranteed.
As an inmate at the Lewisburg Federal Prison Camp in Pennsylvania, Brian had won and lost thousands of card games in the 15 years he’d been incarcerated.
Two levels of single-occupancy cells surrounded the common area where the inmates were playing. The doors to the cells were seldom closed. Because of this, card games were going on almost 24 hours a day.
This specific cell block was known as a no-problem area. The inmates here were non-violent; all kept their heads down and
