New Exhibit At Eastern State Penitentiary Unlocks Conversation About Mass Incarceration
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's been three years in the making.....a new interactive exhibit at Eastern State Penitentiary historic site designed to unlock conversation on the topic of mass incarceration in America.
The exhibit is called Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration.
As you enter the exhibit you encounter a question. The answer determines which way you go.
Have you ever broken the law? If the answer is no, you go to the right. If it's yes, you go to the left. You can write a statement describing the crime. At another installation you can read a series of crime statements. A button will light up showing which author was put in jail and those who got away with it.
"We want to start conversation," said Sean Kelley, with Eastern State Penitentiary. "We want to build a place where the conversation can feel natural and have tools around to have that conversation in a way that is engaging and multi generational, but it's up to our society to determine where we go next."
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world with 2.2 million people in prison.
The public can check out the exhibit for free on Friday, May 6 from 5:30-730 p.m.
