American prisons are not designed to be welcoming places. But what if the American prison experience was reimagined, to the benefit of corrections officers and inmates? In this episode, we head to an experimental prison housing unit in Pennsylvania, which is trying to do just that, by incorporating the ethos of a Scandinavian prison.

Guests:

Allison Murphy, Assistant to the SCI Chester Superintendent

Paige Devane, Corrections Officer, Little Scandinavia

Gina Clark, SCI Chester Superintendent Professor

Jordan Hyatt, Director of the Center for Public Policy, Drexel University

Bret Bucklen, Research Director, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

Sources:

With thanks to John Stark and Swedish Television for the stills and footage from their documentary "Prison Project: Little Scandinavia" © Swedish Television SVT, 2023

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