It was 5 a.m., and Topaz was released with no money in an unfamiliar town: Sunnyside, Washington, about 30 miles southeast of Yakima. He was returning home home to Seattle, a 14-hour bus ride away.
He was forced to acclimate to life on the outside like this, at 5 a.m. in a small town with nothing but a $4 check and the clothes on his back. It was not how Topaz wanted to be released to the public.
This game of forced re-entry, being found in a situation just as raw and isolating as it was being inside jail, happened to Topaz, and it happens to many others post-release. ...