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Summarized by Kent Larsen
Missionaries Go To Jail In Salt Lake City
(A bed-and-breakfast that's tough to leave)
Time pg8 31Jan00 D2
By Nadya Labi
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Two LDS missionaries were among 97 guests that
tried out the new Salt Lake County Adult Detention Complex, according to
a short, entertaining article in Time, Magazine. County Sheriff Aaron
Kennard set up the program, offering anyone a one-time-only chance to
see what its like to go to jail without committing and being convicted
of a crime.
Kennard's idea is something more than a publicity stunt. 'Guests' were
charged $55 for adults and $30 for children to spend a night in the
jail, just like criminals might. He says that he simply wants the public
to "see what my people are going through." His people are the 665
officers and civilians that work at the facility.
However, the actual motivations of the 97 'guests' are somewhat
different. The two LDS missionaries spending a night in jail work with
prisoners and want to experience life on the inside. Other guests
include parents bringing kids so that the kids will see what they will
go through if they get in trouble with the law.
Perhaps that works with some kids. 14-year-old Matthew Ostler, who
stayed at the jail along with his father, Robert Ostler, was more than
ready to go home when the night was over, "I feel trapped," he says, "I
don't want to be here." The staff of the jail agrees -- they don't want
him coming back either.
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