Helping inmates improve their lives and find a better path forward is why Gary Jobe stayed with the Missouri Department of Corrections for more than 32 years. A few years after graduating from Lincoln University with a degree in psychology, Gary took a temporary position in the license tag plant…
Read More
Beyond the Capitol are historic tours and museums, where Missouri's stories are preserved and new ones are in the making. Tyler Beck Photography Missouri State Museum The Missouri State Museum allows visitors to immerse themselves in the history of the Show-Me State. Located in the state Capitol…
Read More
Is there a cheerier side to life behind bars? Former maintenance staff member Larry Neal thinks so. As a longtime employee of the former Missouri State Penitentiary, Larry witnessed plenty of grim and gruesome occurrences. However, he prefers to focus on the more lighthearted encounters he…
Read More
Early in the penitentiary system, reform advocates operated on the theory that with the right training and programs, individuals could become productive members of society despite their crimes. Reflection was the original method of choice, as officials believed it would lead to creating remorse…
Read More
"I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.” Emma Goldman’s quote from her autobiography, “Living My Life,” perfectly describes her lifelong dedication to advocacy. A well-known activist and public speaker, Goldman spent her days campaigning for…
Read More
“I am dangerous to the invisible government of the United States; I am dangerous to the special privileges of the United States; … I thank God that at this hour I am dangerous to the war profiteers of this country, who rob the people on the one hand and rob and degrade the government on the other;……
Read More
Located in the lower lot of the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) sits an overgrown pavilion, overlooking a parking lot filled with the state vehicle fleet. Look closer, and you will see remnants of rusting gym equipment and a basketball court which, together with the pavilion that once served as…
Read More
"Just a minute,” Blanche Barrow told the sheriff at the door. This code alerted her husband, Buck, who shortly began firing on law enforcement. It was 1 a.m. on July 20, 1933, and Platte County police had descended upon the infamous Barrow gang after receiving a tip about the license plate on Clyde…
Read More
Overlooking the Missouri River sits a looming landmark — the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP), a facility that has no shortage of famous former inmates. One of the most well-known was Charles “Sonny” Liston, who arrived at MSP in 1950 to serve time for charges of robbery with a deadly weapon and…
Read More
On the morning of September 28, 1953, a woman approached a Kansas City school. She informed the staff she was there to pick up her nephew, 6-year-old Bobby Greenlease, because his mother had a medical emergency and was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital. The teacher pulled Bobby from class, and he took…
Read More
