The first thing you notice when you enter the grounds of Halden Prison in Norway's far southeast is the forest: Pine and birch trees surround buildings of dark black brick with elegant windows. There's no concrete exercise yard here; it looks like a university campus.
Are Hoidal, the prison governor, smiles at the incredulous reaction of visitors. The effect of the prison design was intentional.
"The only thing that looked like a prison is the big wall. You think this is a prison when you see the big wall, but the buildings [could] be a university, hospital, school, something like that," he says.
[For more of this story, written by Jeffrey Kofman, go to http://www.npr.org/sections/pa...lt-on-second-chances]
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