A History of the Washington State Penitentiary1800's to 1960
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This is not a book about doing time in a penitentiary. There are plenty of those books available. It is a book about how a penitentiary was established for the State of Washington. The history of this prison, once called “The Palace in the Wilderness,” and its relationship with the city of Walla Walla is unlike anything you might expect. The inmates came from a place they called hell on earth. To a new prison built in a wheat field. Witness the Politics, the disagreements, the fight to keep inmates working, the first homicide, and the story behind the warden’s suicide. If it leaves you to wonder. What is the true history, and what has been lost to interpretation over time. Then I invite you to read this book.