Bobby Everson was nearing the end of his decade-long federal prison sentence, but he feared he wouldn't make it home alive.
In July 2021, he was sent to the Special Management Unit at the new U.S. penitentiary in Thomson, Ill. — a program meant for some of the most violent and disruptive prisoners, though many have ended up there who don't fit that description. Everson, who was serving time for drug and weapon charges, had recently been written up for "threatening bodily harm" and "assault without serious injury," though prison records don't provide details. After his transfer, his letters home to his family in New York grew more desperate with each passing week.
