This week a friend shared a link to a Philadelphia Magazine story about the “Little Scandinavia” prison program in Chester … and boy, was that alert timely because I then got to mention the article and the program while appearing on THE OPPERMAN REPORT radio show with Ed Opperman. (I’ll link to that episode when it drops.) I’ve recorded half a dozen podcasts or radio shows during Chained Birds’ launch, and I’m always asked about the book’s prison component, which is an exposé on the horrific abuses at the now-shutdown Lewisburg Prison Special Management Unit. However, it was nice to have some talking points about a good experimental prison program right in my own backyard, and I thank Philadelphia Magazine for providing them.
The “Little Scandinavia” pilot program inside one unit of Chester’s SCI medium-security prison has, of course, been covered by other local outlets and state media since it was formed in early 2020 during COVID. The program is modeled after Norway’s innovative rehabilitation approach and is supported by a research team led by Drexel University and the University at Oslo. The idea is that prisons can be run humanely and that when inmates are treated with dignity, everyone in the environment — including corrections officers — benefits. The Chester unit has seen a reduction in recidivism and violence (almost nonexistent) that parallels the results in Norway, and the program is a model for future development.
You can read the full story and exceptional reporting by Philly Mag‘s Ben Seal here.
Carla Conti is a true crime journalist, storyteller, and prison reform advocate. Her debut book, Chained Birds: A True Crime Memoir, will be published by WildBlue Press on November 12, 2024.
