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![When I chose to take a tour of the Old Joliet Prison in Joliet, IL, I had no idea what I was walking into. I’ve heard of multiple paranormal events happening here, but I was more interested in how a prisoner lived. I wanted to feel their hopelessness and wanted to understand what it must have been like to sit in an empty cell and yearn for sunlight.
The Old Joliet Prison is a daunting structure that appears, seemingly, out of nowhere. When driving to the prison, it isn’t until someone is a few feet away that they see the large walls and barbed wire. Just driving past it, they can feel a change in the atmosphere.
When a prisoner is being driven there, they don’t know how close they are. They are driving through a suburban neighborhood before they reach a small unassuming bridge. Yet, as soon as they go under the bridge and back into the sunlight, they finally see the prison and know that as soon as they go in, they will never come out.
“In 1878, the Prison was filled well over capacity with nearly 2,000 inmates,” according to jolietprison.org, a website that tells the history of the prison and allows for you to sign up for tours. “[There were] reports of unsanitary and dangerous conditions emerged.”
Throughout the state, people knew the allegations that staff was abusing the prisoners as well as killing them. Once a prisoner was told that they were going to Old Joliet Prison, they knew that it was a death sentence](https://kanelandkrier.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/prison1.jpg)
About the Contributor
Sophia Schroll, Centerspread Editor, Photographer, and Social Media Manager
Name: Sophia Schroll
Position: Centerspread Editor and Social Media Manager
Graduation year: 2026
A few sentences about me:. I am a very kind person, but also am very spoken out about topics I believe in. If you don't find me at work you'll find me on the basketball court most of the time. I have played since first grade. It is familiar and comforting.
My favorite…
Movie: Finding Nemo
Show: The Bachlor
Animal: Penguin
Hobby: Basketball
Book: The fault in our stars by John Green
Food: Spaghetti
Song: I am not who I was by Chance Pena
Band / Artist: The lumineers