Prisoner Irelynn Logeen is accompanied by Prison Officers Zoe Harrison and Stephen Lewis – they have brought her to the punishment cell at Bars and Stripes Prison – with the intention of finding out some information from her. The punishment bench takes pride of place in the centre of the stark cell. Somebody has already very thoughtfully placed a blanket over the bench; They can’t have the prisoners being in pain while they’re being punished. Before she is strapped to the bench she is asked if she’s going to give them the information they are desperately seeking.

Her silence is taken as a no. Officer Stephen Lewis bares her bottom and starts strapping her. Irelynn makes appropriate noises that indicate she’s suffering – yet she still refuses to talk. Either Officer Lewis or Officer Harrison would every so often grab a hank of her hair and pull her head back – this meant they were making contact eyeball to eyeball. But poor Irelynn is obstinate and refuses to talk. All she has to do is tell them the name of the bank account and the numbers. The authorities believe she knows all these details.

She won’t even tell them who she’s protecting and why she’s protecting them. Officers Lewis and Harrison try various tactics to make her talk. They try sweet reason. They threaten her. Try to scare her. Nothing works. Frustrated, they have to give up for that day. They leave her still strapped to the punishment bent, promising her that someone might come and release her and escort her to the Solitary Cell, where they tell her she will have to spend the next twelve years, with just spiders and rats for company.

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