Last year, we were playing doubles pickleball on Memorial Day at Wildwood Correctional Center in southern Alaska. Just as I served on the outdoor court, my opponent yelled.

The post Did a Nagging Toothache Contribute to a Prison Suicide? appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

When people hear the phrase “prison pen pal,” they often respond with a stink face. “They’re just looking for money,” the expression reads.  The reality I have seen is both more complicated and more human. People seek pen pals for different reasons. Yes, some are looking for financial help. But many are seeking something incredibly […]

The post A Letter Can Be a Lifeline in Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Every day, Frank pushes Jamie in her wheelchair around Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. First, he takes her to pill call. Then, the pair spin a few laps on the outdoor track. While together, Frank listens to Jamie talk about whatever’s on her mind.  Jamie is an elderly transgender woman with advanced […]

The post How One Lifer Went From Being ‘Absolutely Ruthless’ to Nice as Hell appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

In the late 1980s, Caroline Guy held a cassette recorder to her head, trying to record the voices she was hearing. She had torn through her apartment, throwing away electronics and furniture, hoping to remove the source of the noise.

The post One Woman’s Tormented Path to Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

For the majority of people behind bars, working a job is not optional. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime. In fact, more than 75% of incarcerated workers report that they are required to work or face additional punishment, according to a report by the American Civil […]

The post On Working Behind Bars appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Around 5 a.m. I wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth and make a cup of coffee. It’s strong and smells good.

The post Here’s What a Typical Day Looks Like in My Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

How do you budget on a couple hundred dollars or less a month of income?

The post What a Monthly Budget Looks Like in Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

In late summer 2023, a TV bulletin appeared around Colorado’s Fremont Correctional Facility inviting people to “Starting Over,” a class about good decision-making and self-betterment. A flier for the class featured a pair of hands holding a young plant in fresh soil.

The post Programming at My Prison Was Overwhelmingly Religious. I Tried to Change That. appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

"You're worthless," my mother told me. "Nothing but a disgrace."

The post How I Found a Chosen Family In Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

I took in the earthy perfume of the garden, picked a cherry tomato and popped it in my mouth. My months tending these plants had paid off, and the result was delicious — sharp but mellow, with a soft crunch. I sampled a yellow bell pepper in the next row. It was so sweet and flavorful I could have eaten a meal of these by themselves. I looked over the dozen or so rows: lettuce, cabbage, onions, carrots, cucumbers and melons growing across not-quite an acre.

The post Why Every Prison Needs a Garden appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

In March, a flier at my new prison grabbed my attention. It outlined the prison’s upcoming biannual restorative justice program.

The post My First Foray Into Restorative Justice appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Recently, I sat on a plastic chair across from Shakir, my teenage son. He had traveled with his older brother from about an hour away to visit me here in Trenton, at New Jersey State Prison. The three of us were discussing the importance of putting knowledge before wisdom when, out of nowhere, Shakir began to cry.

The post The Case for More Conjugal and Extended-Stay Visits in Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

I wake up early at 6 a.m. It’s a habit I picked up back in my early 20s, when I was a defense contractor for a private security firm. I’ll get all the sleep I need when I’m dead.

The post A Day in My Cell: ‘The Little Things’ I Enjoy in Solitary Confinement appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

I got to know James “Buck” Martin some years ago while working at Green Meadow Correctional Facility’s law library, where we both clerked. No one introduced us; our inevitable meeting was the result of limited library space at the former maximum security prison in New York, which pushed even the most reserved people toward each […]

The post James ‘Buck’ Martin Suffered Severe Pain, Then Died. Did His Prison Do Enough to Help? appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Today, as with most mornings, Ubaldo T. is helping people. He volunteers in the prison hospice, where he sits amid monitors and tubes and wires and ensures that imprisoned people who are dying have someone by their side.

The post The Man Who Shunned a Gang for Poetry and Service appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

In July 2024, my daughter Daina told me she had breast cancer over a phone call.

The post Coping with Family Medical Crises From a Prison Cell appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Before my release to a halfway house in June, most nights I could look over and see Lucky in the cubicle across the hall from me in our Colorado prison, his book light illuminating his Bible.

The post He Was in a Cult Classic Film But Learning to Read in Prison Is His Proudest Achievement appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

The blue trays were disgusting at the chow hall in my wing of the Mark Stiles Unit, a Texas prison 85 miles east of Houston. Grease-stained. Flecked with days-old tomato paste. Slimy, smelly and woefully unsanitized.

The post Why Can’t I Get a Clean Food Tray at this Texas Prison? appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

In the Deep South, everybody loves their pets. People in prison are no different. We have pet squirrels, lizards and even mice. But the most beloved and coveted of all Florida prison pets is the regal jumper, a species of jumping spider found in parts of the U.S. and Caribbean.

The post The Top Pet in This Prison Is a Special Kind of Spider appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

“They’re going to lock you up for wearing those clothes.” People tell me this every day about my custom outfits, which range from skintight fleece pants to a gray canteen shirt with a Celtic cross design made from blanket material.

The post Why Prisons Should Let Trans Women Dress the Way They Want appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

On April 10, an older transgender woman at my prison, Patricia Trimble, affectionately referred to as Mama P., informed other trans women and me that we might soon lose our access to hormone therapy.

The post Trans Women React to Missouri’s Hormone Therapy Ban in Prisons appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

On Aug. 1, smoke was visible in the distance as I walked to the chow hall for lunch at Airway Heights Corrections Center near Spokane, Washington, where the Old Trails Fire is now burning just a few miles away (see map estimate here).  Over the course of the afternoon, the wall of smoke encroaching on […]

The post What It’s Like In Prison Just Miles Away From Washington State’s Destructive Fires appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

The recreation department used to be the center of life at Idaho State Correctional Institution. People could learn to paint or woodwork in the hobby shop. Musicians could jam with their bands in the music room. And athletes could compete in intramural sports leagues.

The post I Advocated for a Return of My Prison’s Recreation Programs. Then I Was Transferred. appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Each week, on Monday and Wednesday mornings, 60-year-old Yvonne Walker sits in the front row of a music appreciation course — part of a communications class at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women offered through NJ-Step.

The post How One Woman’s Grandson Inspired Her to Get a College Degree in Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Earlier this year, I visited the prison medical department to request a colonoscopy. I'm 56 years old and have never had the procedure, but I’ve heard on the news that it’s important.

The post The Negative Effects of Dehumanizing Language in Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

During my trial, while I was being escorted to the courtroom by two officers, I looked up and saw my 2-year-old niece's face. Her chin was resting on my sister's shoulder, and her expression was blank.

The post Watching My Niece Grow Up in a Prison Visiting Room appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

The writer John J. Lennon will have you know that he killed a man in New York City in the winter of 2001. He will not rationalize it, will not explain it away. He will have you know this fact again and again, in essay after essay because he believes the reader deserves to know why he is writing from prison.

The post Q&A: PJP Interviews a Leader of the Prison Journalism Renaissance appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

More than two decades ago, prisons in California stopped allowing packages from family members, instead requiring items be purchased and shipped through approved vendors. The policy was intended to reduce contraband and other unauthorized items. When the policy was enacted in 2003, there were initially only two vendors available to residents: Walkenhorst’s and Access Securepak. […]

The post Who’s the Best Vendor for California Prisons? appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

I stood alone in my new cell nearly naked, covered only by a thin smock. I felt raw, exposed.
Mentally, I was at a new low.

The post Surviving Suicide Watch in a Missouri Prison appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.

Prisons across the country have suffered from severe staffing shortages — including South Woods State Prison in New Jersey, where I was housed until February. That prison detains over 3,000 people, from minimum to maximum custody.

The post In New Jersey, Prison Staff Shortages Hurt All of Us appeared first on Prison Journalism Project.