ORIENT, Ohio — Willie Harris puts the nail polish down. He measures a pink box against wrapping paper with dinosaurs wearing Santa hats. Then, he rips the paper with his hands.

"Scissors around here are scarce," Harris said.

He pulls one side of the paper over to the other, but it won't connect. He laughs.

“I’m not too good with wrapping, but I’m doing my best,” Harris said.

The 51-year-old tells me he hasn’t wrapped a Christmas present in 22 years. Because that’s how long he’s been incarcerated.

How Christmas comes behind bars in Cincinnati

“This is for my grandbaby,” Harris said.

He’s smiling, even though he’s standing inside the Pickaway Correctional Institution .

"They brought Christmas to us early," Harris said.

And eventually, someone brings him a pair of scissors. He begi

See Full Page