A Sleep
We hear Sammie practicing Caliban's speech about being made of dreams. We then see that he is in a prison yard. The symbol is that these men's dreams are confined by the prison they live in, metaphorically and literally.
Birds on a Wire
We see birds sitting on a barbed wire fence early in the film. This is a symbol that freedom is so close and at the same time so far far away for these inmates as they work through The Tempest.
No News
Hal searches the prison for information to report as news, and in one scene we see him asking for it but there is nothing given in return. This is a symbol that he's getting no connection in communication, which has been a major issue for him as he missed having this communication with his parents as a kid and still as an adult.
Coffee
We see Hal stirring his instant coffee rapidly in his cell before he tells the story of his wife's murder. It is a symbol of the fervency of emotion still stirring within him from this life-changing event.
