I found out by accident looking at local newspaper archives that my dad was in the Ohio State Reformatory (Shawshank prison). I had no idea what for so I wrote the Ohio Historical Society and they sent me photocopies of all his prison records. They are an excellent source of family info not just prisoner. Mine included lots of info on the family members you wouldn't see nowadays i.e. if they were addicts and if so what substance, medical history info etc.