The state's 300 most frail and old prisoners get locked up there, said McCain Supervisor David Hubbard. It gets them to think about other things. We want them to stay vital. Pets for prisoners In Ohio, many of the oldest offenders go to Hocking, a hilltop prison in bucolic southern Ohio. The prison commands a view over the forest-covered hills in the Wayne National Forest.
Deer often stray onto the unfenced prison grounds to graze.
An old prisoner receives care in Angola prison Inside the jail, too, there are animals. The local animal shelter brings puppies to Hocking, and inmates train them as assistants for wheelchair-bound people who need help with doors and elevators, said Warden Janis Lane. The average age is 59, with the oldest at 87. There, sick prisoners go to a local hospital. Otherwise, the state keeps older prisoners mixed in the general population, said Matt Davis, a Department of Corrections spokesman.