The Texas State Pen Show

This hour: we present two very different stories about the Texas State Penitentiary. Both are about soul - the kind you dance to, and the kind you pray for.

Prisoner Soul (NOTE: This piece is not available online due to limited rights from the BBC)

by Vivienne Perry, presented by Gary Younge (BBC Radio 4, 2013)

In the late 60s and early 70s, the Texas prison system chose to put a little more cash and a lot more creativity into its effort to stave off prisoner violence, boredom and recidivism by allowing prisoners to form bands and record music.

Ministry of Presence

by Matt Holzman (KCRW's Unfictional, 2013)

The very same Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville featured in Prisoner Soul currently houses the busiest death chamber in the country. Meet Carroll Pickett, who has spent many agonizing years on death row, but not as a prisoner.