Featured today on MSNBC, an innovative inmate dog program!
Prisoners rehabilitate death-row dogs
LANSING, Kan. - The prison yard is filled with
the sounds of men grunting as they lift heavy barbells that clang
noisily when iron hits concrete. But Jerry McMullin is oblivious,
focused only on a young German shepherd named Tess.
On his hands and knees in the nearby grass, McMullin gently talks to Tess, smiling as he coaxes her to lie down.
Warden David McKune thinks so much of the
program that he kept it alive even after founder Toby Young in February
spirited convicted murderer John Manard out of prison in a dog crate in her van.
The pair were caught about two weeks later in Tennessee.
“Closing
that program wasn’t a thought that occurred to me. That program is much
bigger in its accomplishments than one person,” said McKune.
AP Photo: Dog program chief Janet Florence and two non-John Manard inmates grapple with the pups.
