When Montrail Brackens was finally allowed outside, guards at San Francisco County Jail No. 3 led him and several other inmates into small enclosures that reminded Brackens of dog kennels. It was late 2022, he said, and the first time he’d felt direct sunlight in 10 years.
At the time, Brackens was part of a short-term outdoor program for just a small percentage of inmates. Still shackled, he breathed in the cool morning air. Then he bent down to feel the ground.
“I hadn’t touched a leaf or a rock or dirt in years,” he said…