Prison Life

From the Marshall Project -

My Best Friends in Prison are Frogs, Turtles, and Raccoons
Sharing space with open-minded visitors from beyond the walls.
By JOSEPH DOLE

This article was published in collaboration with Vice.

I used to have a pet turtle in prison.

I began my bid at Menard Correctional Center in southern Illinois, where I lived from 2000 to 2002. The entire yard abuts a rocky bluff, and deer would occasionally emerge from the surrounding woods to peer down at us. In the summer, I could always find myself a pet; garter snakes, frogs, and turtles would often break onto the grounds. At night, I could look out my window and see more than a dozen raccoons hanging out on the roof of the storage building, planning their assault on the chow hall dumpsters.

Once, I smuggled a baby turtle the size of a quarter to my cell. Its shell was so dark, it was nearly black. I built a small aquarium out of Styrofoam trays and cellophane, and when guards would walk by, I would push the aquarium out of sight under the bunk. During shakedowns, I’d cuff my turtle in my hand. The confused guards would destroy the empty aquarium, and I’d have to build another.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/01/12/my-best-friends-in-prison-are-frogs-turtles-and-raccoons#.kMc1Dxkhq