Old Main prison: A tour through American prison history

New Mexico, US – Twenty-four kilometres south of Santa Fe, the now defunct Penitentiary of New Mexico, or “Old Main”, sits in managed decay, its imposing exterior rising above the plains that stretch southeastwards from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which loom in the background of the state’s capital city.It was here, on the early morning of February 2, 1980, that a group of inmates from an overcrowded dormitory overpowered guards during the nightly headcount, setting in motion one of the…