The Loving Blue in Red States Collection

Loving Blue in Red States | Birmingham Alabama | Anne Hagan-5

Sitting in the paddy wagon, Aslyn did her best to staunch the flow of blood from her busted wide open lip. Cuffed behind her back in flex cuffs made like giant zip ties, all she could do was catch the neckline of her shirt in her mouth and try to bunch it up to hold it against the lip.

There were four other passengers in the back of the wagon, all women and all nursing their own injuries. She wondered if they were all going to be taken right to the county lock-up. The thought made her shiver.

Her question was answered when they stopped only a few minutes after pulling away from the courthouse. When the doors were thrown open, she shrank back into the bench seat, unsettled to see where they’d stopped first; Baptist Hospital. Her hospital.

“Everyone that can walk stand up and come this wa