Twenty-seven students in the RWC Criminal Justice program visited the Marysville Ohio Reformatory for Women in March. Led by Professor Marilyn Simon, the group was divided into three groups for the tour, which included the nursery, optical labs, medical facilities, the flag shops, Ohio Penal Industries, the infraction board, and even death row. According to Professor Simon, the students most importantly learned “the feelings of helplessness and fear that the inmates feel when the heavy steel gates lock once past the entrance, precluding all illusions of freedom. This is in particular contrast to the picture the media portrays.
“If a picture paints a 1000 words, this visit was worth 10 billion,” she added.