
White Lies: The Pen
Embedded
00:00
NPR Sponsor Airbnb and NPR's Indefinite Detention
The federal prison system was created by an act of Congress in 1891. The Atlanta Pen is an enormous, imposing Victorian-era structure circled by a huge prison wall. In 1920, the American socialist Eugene Debs actually ran his campaign for the presidency from his cell there. For most of the 20th century, the Atlanta Pen was the largest prison in the entire federal system.
Transcript
Play full episode