Dirt on an inmate’s hand had left a visible print on the gray concrete wall. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill put his hand next to it as his eyes traced the towering 25-foot walls to the wire caging that obstructed his view of the blue sky.
“Nothing brings you the sense of isolation more than this,” he says, his eyes moving around the 20-by-20 concrete box that makes up a recreation yard at the Salt Lake County jail.
This isn’t Gill’s first time here. But being in that yard and seeing those handprints on the wall helps him realize the power he has as a prosecutor.