Annie Carswell gets to see her son for two hours a week, if she’s lucky.
But they don’t meet at her home or at a coffee shop or restaurant – they meet in the Hamilton County Jail. And her son sits in handcuffs behind thick, scratched glass.
Each time, Carswell must check in at the jail about an hour before the visit is scheduled to start. She must present a state photo ID, submit to a search, meet a dress code – no skirts shorter than 3 inches above the knee, no sleeveless blouses, no jogging attire, no camouflage clothing, no extremely loose-fitting clothes.
And then it’s first come, first served, and there are only 12 booths for each hour’s visitation slot. Carswell sometimes shows up at 3 p.m. for a 5 p.m. visitation, just to ensure she gets a seat.
The visits are all Carswell can give her son, Ellis Thornhill, as he awaits trial on a first-degree murder charge.