Religion

Religion figures strongly into Echols' story in both positive and negative ways. Once he is in jail, Damien uses Zen meditation to keep himself from giving into the anger and hatred that he feels immersed in while he is in jail. Damien and Lorri are married in a Buddhist wedding ceremony while he is in jail. Damien also writes of the way that it was very obvious in jail the people who were true Christians and those who were not. For instance, he refers to a lady named Anna who was a light in the darkness to all of the prisoners. The guards hated her because the inmates loved her so much. They would often not let Anna in but she would stay at the doors until she was allowed in.

Damien writes about the way that he and the other inmates are treated by people who claim...