Prisoners cleaning the Great Mississippi River Road after the flood. Alton, Illinois, 2008. © Jo Ann Walters, from the series Dog Town.
Following on nicely from yesterday’s post about prisoners work details, is this image (right-click for a larger view) by Jo Ann Walters, from her series Dog Town.
Chance, or seemingly chance, encounters between photographers and prisoner road crews are not uncommon – portraits by Roger Kisby and Alec Soth spring to mind as similar types of images. Not to mention the dozens of photographers including Scott Houston, Jon Lowenstein and Jim Lo Scalzo who’ve photographed Sheriff Joe Arapio’s chain-gang publicity stunts.
I’ve always lived on the west coast and I haven’t happened upon prisoner work teams but I think this is because the work, for example, of the 200 fire crews and 4,000 offenders at the 42 California DOC Conservation Camps goes on in isolated areas.
How about you? Have you ever seen prisoners on your daily commute or holiday road-trips?
Prison Photography 
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January 30, 2013 at 3:54 pm
MisBehaved Woman
We see them quite often here in Southern New Mexico. Not only out on the roadways but working around town in our neighborhoods and taking lunch breaks in the parks now and then as well. There has never been any kind of issue or problem that I know of and the few prisoners I know all say they appreciate the chance to spend the day out doors.
January 31, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Roadside Prisoners, by Dave Jordano « Prison Photography
[…] Jordano responded to yesterday’s question Have you ever seen prisoners on your daily commute or holiday road-trips? with the above […]