"This is No Place to Be"

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was one of the most notorious prisons in the state of Tennessee from its opening in 1896 until it was closed in 2009. Many found their end here at the hands of another prisoner or by rampant disease.

As a maximum security positioned in the east Tennessee mountains, it was a difficult place to escape, but rumors of a loose convict (like James Earl Ray) struck fear into the minds of children living in the region. To the people of the volunteer state, Brushy was an ominous place of evil, but it is now open to the public where visitors can take tours from former inmates. Needless to say, it is already quite the success.

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"Old George" served two years at Brushy Mountain where he says he did worse things inside the prison to stay alive than he did to get in the prison.

James Earl Ray was held at Brushy Mountain and led an escape over the wall, but he only got eight miles away. "Old George" said that if he had ever made it out, he would have gotten much farther than eight miles.

According to "Old George," "Brushy Mountain is the only prison with three walls–you can look that up in the Genesis Book of World Records." You don't need more than three walls deep in the mountains.

Brushy Mountain was not a place of rehabilitation. It was a place designed for punishment and hard labor. In its early days, prisoners of all ages worked in the coal mines, and they were whipped if they did not meet quota.

"Old George" said that when he took his grandchildren to see Brushy, they dubbed it "Paw's Castle." "Old George" believes that it is his calling to introduce young people to the horrors of Brushy to ensure that they will not be incarcerated themselves. "Let me be the dumb one. Don't end up in a place like this. Let me be the dumb one," "Old George" repeated.

"Old George" explained to the visitors that, "there are the guard rules and the prisoner rules–you better play by the prisoner rules."Most of the violence that took place within the walls were prisoner on prisoner with little to no intervention from the guards. "Old George" described one instance were a man who had been stabbed to death was left out in the main outdoor area in the rain for nine hours before his body was removed.

One thing "Old George" neglected to point out was the butterfly lying dead by the window in a building that housed prisoners. It eternally gazes out onto the courtyard where many violent crimes were committed.

A look inside one of "Old George's" first cells shows an exposed pipe where he stored a gun for one of the gangs. The same pipe was a walkway for rodents whose droppings turned George's blanket black. The guards never gave him a replacement cover.

"Old George" spent most of his time in a building with three stories of cells. When leading visitors through the building, he kept remarking how strangely quiet it was devoid of distressed prisoners.

"Old George" marked the days of his incarceration on his wall.

The cell next to "Old George's" depicts a drawing of Jesus and the words that the Lord spoke over the Savior: "This is my beloved son." "Old George" said that the day the man got out of prison, he swore he was on his way to church. "Old George" said he hoped he made it.

The caged dove above is etched over the drawing of Jesus.

A Bible is hollowed out to hold contraband pills. The page beside it recounts the story of Solomon's birth which renewed David's joy after he was punished for his greatest sins.

The last stop on "Old George's" tour is the mess hall where butcher knives were used to butcher other prisoners. "Old George" said the murals changed often, but that he always was drawn to this one, wishing that he too could be in paradise.

The horrific stories of Brushy Mountain serve to inform younger generations about the danger of unchecked cruelty. The student pictured here, Lillie Banks, toured Brushy Mountain to help her prepare for a career in prison reform.