Comments on: The Devil's Caldron

The Devil's Caldron

thisisdrew — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 06:46:27 -0800

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.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 06:54:12 -0800

conservative response: "nets? see how they coddle their criminals?" liberal response: "american prisoners are being unjustly deprived of healthy helicopter recreation."

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 09:22:36 -0800

Great link-- thanks.

By: ig

ig — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 09:54:22 -0800

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!

By: dirtylittlemonkey

dirtylittlemonkey — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 11:33:15 -0800

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]

By: jacquilynne

jacquilynne — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 12:19:11 -0800

This was fascinating. Took me a long time to comment, because it took me a long time to read it.

By: taz

taz — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 13:38:41 -0800

Ditto on all the praise, thisisdrew - I've viewed all the images and I'm about half-way through the story. Excellent.

By: sierray

sierray — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 20:26:45 -0800

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.

By: Dukebloo

Dukebloo — Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:40:02 -0800

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.