The study was prompted by recognition that the current debate about the most appropriate means of dealing with offenders with an intellectual disability takes place at the level of rhetoric only because comparatively little is know about the experiences of offenders within the system. The research examined inmates of both a mainstream maximum-security prison and a secure facility on the grounds of an institution in Victoria, Australia. The Intensive Residential Treatment Program (RTP) consisted of cottages on the grounds of a residential training center. The study profiles the offenders with intellectual disabilities and compared 11 participants who had been admitted to the IRTP at some stage with 31 offenders who had only been imprisoned. The secure facility appeared to be better suited to meeting the multiple and complex needs of this grossly disadvantaged group of offenders, although the secure facility also has some disadvantages. Tables, notes, and 32 references (Author abstract modified)