Do you ever wonder what happens to the widely-publicized incarcerated criminals, the ones you figure would make a tempting target to fellow inmates? California has a special prison housing unit especially for them.
"If Michael Jackson is acquitted of child molestation and related charges, he’ll probably return home to his whimsical Neverland ranch in Santa Barbara County.
"But if he is convicted of any of the 10 felony counts against him, he will probably land in the most secure prison unit in California, designed to protect famous convicts from attack by other inmates, prison officials say.
"Corcoran State Prison is set in the middle of America’s richest cotton fields, about 50 miles south of Fresno.
"Its Protective Housing Unit is considered the safest place for an inmate in the California prison system, and therefore the home for mass murderers such as Charles Manson and Juan Corona — and any inmate whose notoriety would make him a trophy for other inmates, Corrections Department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said."
For a true-crime buff like me, the article is an intriguing look at what happens to celebrity inmates after the cameras and public interest are gone.