Old prisoners

Ohio State Reformatory is famous as the penitentiary where the prison themed drama The Shawshank Redemption was filmed. It was originally intended for first-time offenders to be humanely rehabilitated and the architecture was supposed to ‘encourage inmates back to a rebirth of their spiritual lives… away from their sinful lifestyle and toward repentance’ but it very quickly became home to the very worst criminals in the American penal system. Described variously as ‘brutal’, ‘inhumane’, ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unfit for human habitation’, the prison, which closed as recently as 1990, has a dark yet fascinating history.