Standing in profile for her first mugshot, Angela Swagler decided to smile.
And, curiously, they let her. Police photographers generally discourage smiling, but then these officers had already made some exceptions for Angela … bringing her oatmeal instead of pizza, getting her lip balm when she asked for it. Maybe it seemed the least they could do, considering.
But Angela had no illusions that these small indulgences changed anything. On this hot summer night, in a strange town, several of these police officers were still determined to humiliate her. Vested with defending the law, they had already shown themselves more than willing to shove the law aside to silence her and the rest of her small group of Christian young people.
Angela was afraid, but she wouldn’t let them see it. So she looked at the camera and smiled...
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