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These Missouri inmates run their own corner of the prison. The warden is OK with that.

 

“It’s peaceful and tranquil with them swimming around,” says Richard McCool, watching fish swim in one of two housing wings of the Dynamo program, where offenders with good behavior live independently at Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, Mo., on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. McCool, 65, is serving time for rape and first-degree murder convictions. “One day, God willing, we’re going to get out of here.” Robert Cohen, Post-Dispatch

By Jesse Bogan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 26, 2023

The warden’s office view is very good here at Northeast Correctional Center. From his window, he can see much of the sprawling state prison that’s home to about 1,550 inmates and surrounded by rolling fields.

That doesn’t mean it’s pretty.

On a recent mid-morning from his roost, the clear sun revealed overwhelming hues of gray from down below. Spools of concertina wire. Layers of fencing, concrete and metal. Even the prisoner uniforms.

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Robert — Thank you for your post! It gave me a little smile. I live in Auburn, NY — Thomas Mott Osborne’s home town. I started as a teacher in the Osborne School in Auburn Prison in 1969. Not having any knowledge of prisons I went to our local library and found TM’s book Prison and Society. Osborne’s central tenet for this life was recognizing and supporting the dignity of others, prisoners included. Over the years I have been working to apply this principle to how adults interact with children: that is — we adults should recognize and support children's dignity. When we do that, so many problems disappear. My students find when they do that, so many problems of children and adults who deal with children disappear. That’s what Osborne found over 100 years ago!!  BRAVO for making the connection.

Markedly similar to the [former] California Honor Prison... and to Thomas Mott Osborne's 'Wardenship" of the U.S. Naval Disciplinary Barracks in Portsmouth, N.H. (they had less escapes when they lowered the fence to only 3-4 feet high)>

Last edited by Robert Olcott
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