in photos the prison that tried to correct Al Capone

Famous prisoners such as bank robber Willie Sutton and well-known gangster Alphonse passed through the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary in Philadelphia – the emblematic city where the US Constitution was signed.Scarface” Al Capone.

Today it is one of many well-preserved legacies of the historic city.

In this photoreport, the voice of america shows you the inside of a prison museum that welcomes visitors from all over the world.

Reinserting the prisoner rather than punishing him was the premise since the opening of the modern and expensive prison that opened its doors in October 1829.

According to website of the prison turned into a museum, The idea of ​​re-educating prisoners went around the world, serving as an example to prison systems in European countries such as Spain.

As well as its magnanimous architecture – beginning with a Gothic Revival-style façade and 30-foot-high walls – the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary is notable for its famous inmates.

Disturbing dilapidated cell blocks and empty watchtowers are part of an architecture that sought to impose discipline and provoke regret.

As part of the tour, those who make it this far can enter several solitary confinement cells, some of which have not been rebuilt.

This site, consistent with the institution’s mission statement, interprets the legacy of American criminal justice reform, from the nation’s founding to the present day.

Known in English as Eastern State Penitentiary, this jail was designed by John Haviland. Its construction cost 800,000 dollars, the largest investment that has been reported in a facility of this type until then.

According to the rules of the prison at that time, the inmates were isolated when they arrived, so that they could meditate, repent and correct their faults alone. The isolation conditions were strict. To leave the cells, the inmates were guarded and with their heads covered.

But the cells also had an individual area outside to exercise, which in turn had no communication with other areas of the prison. The isolation ceased to be applied by 1913.

Among the prisoners, a curious case has gone down in the history of this prison. Governor of Pennsylvania at the time, Gifford Pinchot, sentenced Ped, a dog convicted of killing his wife’s cat, to life in prison in 1929.

That same year, 1929, Al Capone coincided with Ped, who spent eight months of his hectic life there. The Philadelphia Daily Ledgera local newspaper at the time, then reported that Al Capone was enjoying many luxuries during his time in jail.

Official records indicate that in just over 140 years more than a hundred prisoners would have escaped.

In April 1945, after digging a 30-meter tunnel under the prison’s 9-meter-high wall, about 12 inmates escaped. Among them fled bank robber Willie Sutton. Most of those who escaped were recaptured, with the exception of Leo Callahan, who was not heard from, according to museum records.

The Pennsylvania State Penitentiary was declared a United States National Historic Landmark in 1965. And in 1971 it was closed and by 1994 it reopened as a Philadelphia museum.

Those who arrive here can learn about the history of this place in self-guided tours through headphones and about 10 stops.

This prison museum has inspired artists and often attracts fans of phenomena described as paranormal. Many believe that this museum is a haunted site from the days of the penitentiary.

Its cells, stairs and corridors will host the Halloween celebration on October 31. Does it cheer?

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