The Devil's Caldron

October 22, 2003 6:46 AM

Reflect the pain and desolate loneliness inmates felt when serving time - time in a prison surrounded by a paradise that teased them with what was forbidden.

In 1985, before I left Brazil to live in the United States, I journeyed with some friends to surf at Ilha Grande. One day, while we relaxed on a remote beach, a group of military men suddenly appeared looking for some escaped prisoners. They advised us to stay together. Hours later, a helicopter flew over the sea with two fugitives trapped in a net that was hanging from its belly. ...At that moment, a desire was born in me to see life within the Caldron.
posted by thisisdrew (8 comments total)

conservative response: "nets? see how they coddle their criminals?"

liberal response: "american prisoners are being unjustly deprived of healthy helicopter recreation."
posted by quonsar at 6:54 AM on October 22, 2003

Great link-- thanks.
posted by yerfatma at 9:22 AM on October 22, 2003

Ilha Grande.... so nice. I once paddled around it in 3 days in a sea kayak... 102 beaches, great waves, big fun. The prison is no longer in use, but the ruins are an interesting visit.

cool link!
posted by ig at 9:54 AM on October 22, 2003

Sorry there aren't more comments here, but this link is really quite deserving. Very interesting how much access he was granted, somehow being offered crash space in the kingpin's family room goes beyond 'Total Access'. Great find and as they say..

[This is Good]
posted by dirtylittlemonkey at 11:33 AM on October 22, 2003

This was fascinating. Took me a long time to comment, because it took me a long time to read it.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:19 PM on October 22, 2003

Ditto on all the praise, thisisdrew - I've viewed all the images and I'm about half-way through the story. Excellent.
posted by taz at 1:38 PM on October 22, 2003

Many thanks for this post. It took a while to go through it properly and then I went back and viewed the images again. I'm only sorry that others haven't taken the time to view this slice of history.
posted by sierray at 8:26 PM on October 22, 2003

Excellent post. I volunteer in a shelter full of former inmates, and I can see some hints of organized authority that runs below the surface. No kingpins like this, but definitely topdogs/underdogs in the system.
posted by Dukebloo at 1:40 PM on October 23, 2003