Weekly Rotary Meeting – A Life Sentence – Andrea Kaneko

Andrea is a writer for Missouri Life and has written a great article about the Missouri State Penitentiary.

At the entrance of the Missouri State Penitentiary, etched in deteriorating stone among an encroachment of moss and grime, is this Bible verse: “He who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save his soul from death.” –James 5:20

All who dare enter the supposedly haunted fortress in Jefferson City walk under this verse. Built in 1836, this penitentiary was the oldest operating penal facility west of the Mississippi River before it closed. In the 168 years the prison was open, it was a place of violence and death. TIME magazine called it “the bloodiest 47 acres in America” in 1967.