Four

Captured through the lens

BY Sarah McArthur, June 22, 2011

The Lansing Correctional Facility boasts of a few claims to fame: it is one of the oldest prisons in Kansas State and it is also rumoured to be the birthplace of the term ‘the hole’, commonly known as solitary confinement. More importantly, Lansing is home to the Safe Harbour Prison Dog Program.

Photographer Jeff Barnett-Winsby first came across the Safe Harbour program when at Lansing shooting ‘Marks of Intention’, a series which focussed on single occupancy cell interiors.

Safe Harbour is a unique program, which unites wayward dogs with inmates trained to be dog handlers. The inmates rehabilitate the abandoned or undesirable dogs, already unwanted by other animal shelters across the Midwest, and retrain them through constant care, even by sharing the cells. Post-rehab the dogs could be sent to the inmates’ children or into the wider community for ongoing care. The Safe Harbour program, started by volunteer Toby Young, proved successful not only as a second chance for the dogs but also in giving meaning and purpose to the inmates in their role as carer.

Jeff was so fascinated at the bond he had witnessed between the inmates and dogs that he embarked on a second photographic series at Lansing, ‘Safe Harbour’, a series of close-ups and portraits of inmates and their dogs, which celebrate how far the pairings have come.

A year into shooting the series at Lansing Jeff found out that one of the inmates in the program, John Maynard, had escaped the prison concealed inside a dog crate with the help of Toby Young. While initial media reports called for the safe return of Toby unharmed, it was soon realised that Toby played an integral part in the escape of John with a van used by the Safe Harbour program.

Jeff became compelled by the story of the escapee lovers, having become close to many of the people involved in the program. Jeff followed the trail documenting their hideouts, writing them letters to hear of their experiences. This extraordinary tale has recently been published in the book ‘Mark West and Molly Rose’, titled after the aliases used by the two fugitives.

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Images courtesy of Jeff Barnett-Winsby
To see more work by Jeff Barnett-Winsby visit his website.
For more information about ‘Mark West and Molly Rose’ click here.

Tags Book, Community, Escape, Kansas, Photography, Prison, Program, Reportage, Safe Harbour