Prison Lockdowns: The Humiliation of the Annual Shakedown
Chiron Francis writes about the dreaded ritual of prison lockdowns, when cells are searched, possessions are confiscated, and the few things people have managed to…
Chiron Francis writes about the dreaded ritual of prison lockdowns, when cells are searched, possessions are confiscated, and the few things people have managed to…
Alex Friedmann explains how a plea bargain can pressure defendants into accepting life without parole simply to escape harsh pretrial confinement. Why would a defendant…
Eugene Trent explains how sentencing policies, overcrowding, staff shortages, and prolonged lockdowns are creating the conditions for a prison system collapse in North Carolina. In…
Jibreel Mehdi explains how religious discrimination in prison prevents Shi’a Muslims from practicing their faith freely within the North Carolina prison system. After almost 29…
Robert Haas explains how stagnant prison wages and rising commissary prices force incarcerated people to choose between food, hygiene, and communication with their families. Feeding…
James Berman describes how four incarcerated men cope with prison life through scrabble in prison, trading humor, intellectual competition, and friendship — one word at…
Shakeil Price describes how surviving in prison requires fighting for freedom, health, dignity, and identity in a system he believes is designed to break him.…
Daniel Harris reflects on living with HIV in prison, finding unexpected love, and facing the painful possibility of letting that love go. On September 28,…
Jinx explains the pain, isolation, and lack of support she experiences as a trans person in prison while awaiting gender affirmation surgery. Two years. In…
Brian McNamee describes prison overcrowding inside a North Carolina unit, where 42 men share space built for 32, broken toilets go unrepaired, doors barely work,…
Chiron Francis writes about K2 in Texas prisons and the drug trade he saw unfold inside a crowded dormitory unit, where addiction, commissary, and indifference…
Markus A. Barry writes about being an incarcerated father and the lasting pain of leaving his young daughters behind, watching from prison as they grew…
As Byron Hunter explains, when in prison, there’s something that happens to almost everyone inside, despite everyone’s best efforts. One’s connection to the outside world may…
Arnold Barnes III writes about hustles in prison and the many ways incarcerated people use talent, labor, and creativity to get basic necessities, build up…
Chris Dankovich reflects on peace as something that can exist even in prison, challenging the assumption that freedom alone determines joy or fulfillment. Who should…
MarQui Clardy reflects on what it means to be an incarcerated parent and how incarceration quietly reshapes children’s lives, family bonds, and long-term outcomes in…
Jeffery Shockley describes how serving a life sentence in prison changes the meaning of time itself, shifting it from a familiar rhythm of daily routines…
Arnold Barnes offers survival tips for prison, offering hard-won lessons for navigating the unpredictable realities of prison life. Survival Tip #1: The One-Eyed Demon You’re…
Chris Dankovich recalls a surreal ride in a prison transport van — his first time out of prison in fifteen years. The light turns green,…
Daniel Harris recounts how synthetic drugs sprayed on paper is the new prison crisis unfolding inside his Texas unit after multiple overdoses, alleged corruption, and…
In this essay from inside a prison kitchen, James Berman writes about baking a strawberry-frosted prison kitchen cake for 60 incarcerated men and discovering something…
Gordon Grilz, reflects on prison violence in the Florence Prison Complex in Arizona, while recalling the disturbing events, deaths, and spiritual weight that surrounded life…
Monique Houston reminds us that incarcerated women are too often overlooked, even as they endure deep trauma, family separation, and unequal treatment behind bars. In…
The 30 prisoners I interviewed in the Coffield Unit in Texas have served for a variety of lengths of time; some for decades, and others…
Daniel Harris writes about the frustration of collective punishment in Texas prisons — when lockdowns, lost privileges, and harsh restrictions fall on everyone because of…
Jeremy Busby writes about prison food illness and why meals served inside jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers routinely make people sick. Incarceration has always…
Antwaun Johnson believes racist prison guards are not an abstract concept — they are a daily reality for Black inmates in Virginia. He has spent…
Little did you know, there’s an underground prison economy and, just like in the free world, you can pretty much get whatever you want as…
Michael Himes writes about getting a job in prison and how persistence, discipline, and attitude matter more than connections or luck. Through his own experience…
Matthew Neumann recounts life inside Waupun prison, Wisconsin’s oldest maximum security prison, where years of lockdowns, corruption, and harsh conditions shape daily survival. As my…
Timothy Johnson and Tyler Bowman explore how age matters in sentencing, explaining how juveniles and emerging adults experience diminished capacity that shapes decision making, accountability,…
Derrick Walker writes about how the prison tablet program in North Carolina prisons charges inmates high prices for poor-quality content and limited access to basic…
Andrew Krosch describes how new Minnesota DOC policies restricting prison legal papers threaten incarcerated individuals’ access to courts and their ability to seek justice. It’s…
Orion Flowers recalls how being perceived as LGBTQ+ inside Florida prisons can instantly place a person in mortal danger, shaped by gang laws, fear, and…
MarQui Clardy recalls a terrifying night in prison that exposes how mental illness is routinely mishandled by correctional systems that rely on punishment instead of…
Chiron Francis describes how commissary day inside prison becomes a highly anticipated event, revealing how hope, tension, and survival are shaped around access to commissary.…
Chris Dankovich shares what a teen in adult prison endures daily, revealing how vulnerability, youthfulness, and survival intersect in an environment not built for kids.…
Matthew Neumann describes how the broken justice system continues to devastate innocent people while exposing ongoing failures inside Waupun Prison. Wisconsin’s Governor Evers‘ public announcement…
Jeffery Shockley reflects on the deep personal transformation, grief, and resilience that come with serving a life sentence, sharing hard-earned wisdom about aging, coping, and…
James Duckett reflects on decades spent on Florida Death Row, recalling shared meals, friendships, and memories while confronting a devastating year marked by an unprecedented…
Deontae Fulton explains how abuse within the Arkansas Department of Corrections has become a daily reality, stripping prisoners of dignity, safety, and basic human care.…
Devin Giordano explains how the prison economy operates on scarcity and survival, where even efforts to eliminate drugs may trigger dangerous unintended consequences. I watch…
Andrew Krosch writes about segregation—one of the most traumatic experiences in prison, because of the time spent locked down and the devastating property loss that…
Brandon Lewis explains how the failure to address mental health in prison leads to tragic, preventable consequences both inside and outside prison walls. I’m currently…
How can our young African American men identify with society’s mainstream values when they cannot even identify themselves? I speak from lived experience. But first,…
Tutankhamon Waterman explains how a staph infection in prison became a life-changing experience, exposing the dangers of unsanitary tattooing and medical neglect behind bars. In…
Charles Diorio explains how double-bunking forces inmates into unsafe, inhumane conditions. At Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, the practice fuels violence, drugs, and exploitation. Recently I was…
Two packs of cookies and a Pepsi costs $2.50. The homie across the tier might let you get that for a Colgate and a deodorant,…
Brandon LaVergne explains how inmate guards were once outlawed in Louisiana due to widespread brutality, only to quietly return decades later through modern prison programs…
Jeffery Shockley reflects on what it means to live with a life sentence, navigating decades of loss, resilience, and systemic challenges inside the Pennsylvania prison…
After a tragic car accident during a police chase left an innocent man dead and led to my 50-year prison sentence for felony murder, I…
Steven Williams explains how prison politics mirror the corruption, deception, and manipulation seen in the outside world’s government systems. Prison politics are quite similar to…
I may know how Ethan Crumbley's life in prison is going to look better than anyone, anywhere. Almost two decades ago, in very different circumstances,…
James Berman recalls how learning the craft of prison cooking turned into both a survival skill and an unlikely connection to memories of making pasta…
Sean Riker shares how a wrongful conviction can strip away identity, hope, and connection, leaving only the echo of injustice inside a cell. They called…
Charles Hill writes about how years of incarceration reshaped his ability to interact, and how Toastmasters helped him rebuild essential communication skills. It was a…
Larry Toothman reflects on how the prison kitchen has shifted from feeding people with dignity to maximizing corporate profits at the expense of quality and…
Andrew Krosch writes about life inside the segregation unit at Minnesota Correctional Facility–Oak Park Heights, where daily routines, tense encounters, and quiet endurance define the…
Arnold Barnes offers survival tips for prison, offering hard-won lessons for navigating the unpredictable realities of prison life. Survival Tip #1: The One-Eyed Demon You’re…
Daniel Harris writes about the reality of a 24-hour lockdown in Texas prisons, highlighting how mass punishment unfairly impacts innocent prisoners for the actions of…
Andrew Krosch reflects on prison friendship — a fragile, complicated bond, shaped as much by unspoken rules and survival instincts as by genuine human connection.…
Charles Diorio writes how administrative neglect at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center is fueling dangerous conditions, worsening violence, and eroding the quality of life for Massachusetts’…
Shakeil Price shares how a prison book ban in New Jersey threatens his only lifeline to education, rehabilitation, and hope. I’ve been locked up for…
Psycho. Fresh, Peace Maker, Lee 3, G-Town, Turtle, and C-Murda are just a few of the prison nicknames some of the prisoners on my cellblock…
As a prison writer, Kory McClary discovered that putting pen to paper not only gave him purpose but also transformed his life from one of…
A ABORIGINE: (n) [sometimes derog.] A Native American. AGENT: (n) A snitch, usually on a specific mission from staff. [“Look out talking about the mota,…
MarQui Clardy explains how prison water is often overlooked in conversations about incarceration, yet its contamination and poor quality pose serious health risks to the…
Matthew Neumann writes about how prison staff shortages impact prisoners’ already limited quality of life. When prisons can’t maintain sufficient staff, life for the incarcerated…
Prison used to be rougher, whew, a place you dreaded to go, a place that inspired fear and anxiety, a place possessed with dark brutality,…
Robert Maday describes how Menard Prison is a place where confinement goes far beyond bars, breaking down the mind as much as the body. Menard…
El Presynt writes about how mental illness plays a critical and often overlooked role in mass incarceration in the United States, where it is more…
Prison cellmate conflict is one of the most common—and dangerous—triggers for violence behind bars, where even minor annoyances can escalate into life-threatening situations. Standing over…
A typical day in prison is anything but. I’m watching an old man’s personal property being packed up by a corrections officer (CO). This was…
Eastham is an old prison with a slowly decaying network of pipes to provide water and remove sewage. For one reason or another we…
Shawn Dustin Powell explains how you have to learn a few prison hustles if you want to afford the basic necessities in prison, unless you’re…
David from Maryland There are no truly foolproof methods for navigating prison, because prison is many things—differing from era to era, person to person, and…
Dorothy Maraglino, serving a life sentence in California, shares a long list of lessons learned in prison. The people in the position to help the…
Justin Welch tells us what he wishes somebody would have told him right when before he headed to prison. It might’ve helped him avoid making…
Darius Harris writes that there are several things he’s learned in his time in prison that will help “new fish” acclimate to life inside. If…
Recently I had a four-and-a-half-day mini-vacation (my first in 15 years) when I was admitted to Grace Hospital in Morganton, North Carolina. Apparently, while doing…
Marcus Isreal describes what he did when he arrived in prison as a young man and how, over time, he eventually learned he had a…
Jereme Clark describes the living conditions in the East Moline Correctional Center which he says has urine on the floors from leaky toilets, black mold…
Matthew Neumann describes how Waupun’s prison warden was arrested after Prison Writers’ Loen Kelley notified the local and national media about the prison’s brutal conditions.…
Nate Lindell, like many inmates across the country, is on social media in prison. He has been charged with violating several DOC policies by having…
Although sexual predators in prison aren’t that common after PREA, Steven Williams describes how a predator named Seventeen was consistently harassing his young friend Dax,…
When a huge pine tree outside of his prison fell over and died one day, Gordon Grilz was hit hard. He describes his love of…
Michael Philpot doles out his advice for how to behave when you’re first arriving in prison, starting with the big one: Mind Your Own Business.…
New Jersey prisons are supposed to address all grievances, complaints and reports of abuse they receive from inmates. But according to Kory McClary, the system…
Kurtis Urey describes the conditions in Pennsylvania prisons, touching on the food, drug use and the mercurial behavior of correctional officers. Pennsylvania prisons are not…
MarQui Clardy shares crucial prison tips for first-time inmates, covering respect, rights, survival strategies, and how to stay true to yourself behind bars. I’ll never…
One of the best jobs in prison is to train prison dogs. Jerry Metcalf describes how training prison dogs under the philosophy of the five…
Author Chris Dankovich found his identity at the center of anarchy and order while being confined in prison for 20 years in Michigan. “Dankovich offers…
Although he has four life sentences, Benjamin Case has been saved in prison by God and the remarkable and unrelenting support of three strong women…
The prison experience is different for different people. Nathan Gray — who’s 7 feet tall — lists 12 things one should expect if they’re that…
Prison life has revealed that even behind bars, the spirit of entrepreneurs can thrive in the most unexpected—and often disturbing—ways. There are all sorts of…
Thomas Koskovich reflects on how a simple baked potato became a profound reminder of gratitude and mindfulness in prison, revealing the beauty in life’s smallest…
Luis Paz explains how important it is for inmates to have a prison hustle. Not only for having extra currency, but because it teaches you…
MarQui Clardy asks if solitary confinement was the right treatment for someone who just survived a suicide attempt in prison after his mental health issues…
72-year old Gordon Grilz makes the case that he, and probably many other prisoners, have severe PTSD after decades of witnessing murders, rapes and stabbings…
Dawan Ingram remembers the moment he found his first gray hair and explains what it’s like to be aging in prison when you’re innocent. My…
MarQui Clardy describes how rookie doctors training in prisons are allowed to try out their new skills on prisoners. “So, Mr. Clardy, today we’ll be…
Jeremy Nuckles shares how prison humor can be a rare but powerful force for connection and transformation behind bars. Humor can be a tricky endeavor…
Justin Welch writes about how prevalent suicides have become in prisons in Wisconsin and that includes his own attempts to end his life. I’m going…
Kevin “Rashid” Johnson details how Virginia prison guards working at the state’s remote locations are repeatedly abusing mostly Black prisoners — and sometimes getting away…
Joseph Colon has spent decades living in private prisons across the country. He describes how the basic needs of prisoners are neglected in for-profit prisons,…
After I finish my morning coffee, I wait for the cell door locks to disconnect and for the front of my cell to open up.…
Woop! Woop! The loud noises stir me from my sleep. It’s coming from men yelling out a warning from the cells around me. Woop! Woop!…
Ben Wilkins describes a unique and very lucrative prison side hustle few people know about: the prison massage therapist. Do you think it’s possible to…
In 1999, Kenneth West was give a 120-year sentence at the age of 19. He describes how long sentences and punitive treatment by guards can…
While the Jewish population in prison is small, it’s hard for practicing Jews to go unnoticed. Chris Dankovich discusses the reasons behind antisemitism in prison.…
Arnold Barnes describes how a typical prison diet leads to a whole host of new medical problems, including diabetes. Come to prison healthy, leave a…
A firsthand look at a deadly prison riot in Arizona, detailing the intense clashes and stark realities of survival behind bars. I arrived in the…
One of the most important lessons that prison has taught me about life and being alive really has very little to do with prison per…
April recounts how her noisy and chaotic environment turns every morning into a stressful ordeal in prison. Imagine a daycare center—the toddler room, to be…
Amid the relentless chaos of New Jersey State Prison, one inmate’s attempt to find quiet in prison is dramatically interrupted by a sudden alarm. The…
After her parole revocation, a mother confronts profound loneliness in prison, turning to writing and virtual communication in an attempt to bridge the distance between…
An in-depth look at the Arizona prison crisis and the critical challenges it faces — from staff shortages to violations of inmates’ rights, revealing a…
Make no mistake about it, federal death row is solitary confinement. On average, we're lockdown 22 hours a day. We are allotted about 6 hours…
All across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there is a Zombie Medication Line in prison that forms immediately after it is announced over the loudspeaker. A…
Has long-term incarceration completely fried my receptors from alerting me to danger in prison? We’ve all heard of fight or flight, and the additional freeze…
Today I saw another man die in prison. At my cell door. I watched him take his final breath and let life go. I saw…
About three months ago, I witnessed another murder at Ely State Prison (ESP). That’s the fifth murder here in the last two years. How is…
Losing a parent while you’re in prison is hard the first time. It’s devastating when it happens a second time. On the way to take…
The personal and poignant story of a transgender inmate grappling with identity, respect, and survival in the confines of prison. I’m a transgender inmate. Not…
Guys are dying of overdoses and suicides in a Texas prison. One inmate, Jeremy Busby, tries to help. Then his best friend commits suicide. Do…
Shakeil Price was given a life sentence based solely on the testimony of his co-defendant’s girlfriend. He has spent the last nine excruciating years navigating…
Shortly after being locked up, Chris discovers he’ll need to find a side hustle in prison to survive. It’s not long before he comes up…
I recount the indignities of prisoners, detailing the harsh conditions and neglect endured in an Arkansas jail. My name is Scott Linn. I am a…
Amid the grim realities of incarceration, a story of heroism in prison emerges, shining a light on an inmate’s brave rescue. The trustee dorms have…
Guy discusses how the unavailability of Band-Aids in prison mirrors the lack of basic compassion. I never really used Band-Aids on the outside, although I…
Shawn transforms his drab surroundings through the art of prison cell decoration, turning it into a lively space that reflects his creative vision. It begins…
Every inmate eventually witnesses a prison murder and has a story to tell. This is mine. Seventeen-year-old Damico Watkins lived upstairs in cell #144 of…
I've fallen asleep alone every night of my life. For half my life there's been another person in the room, but that's not the same.…
No doubt we are in for another hot summer with highs over 100 degrees in Texas prisons. Yet Texas continues to fight to avoid air…
If you ask most Americans if there’s slavery in the United States, they will answer “No.” It was abolished during the Civil War by the…
Deirdre McDonnell writes about what it means to feel lonely in prison and how small daily choices can help transform isolation into moments of purpose…
Florida prisons are starting a new system in which their aim is to eventually tag every inmate in their custody with a wristband and an…
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin describes the predominant attitudes, mentalities, and worldviews found in prison so well, it is surprising that he hasn’t…
Incarceration is the plight of every inner-city youth who succumbed to the impoverished afflictions and temptation of monetary gains. And financial freedom by any means…
After I left the “cushy” San Mateo County Jail in 2006, I was headed to prison — San Quentin. Just the name of San Quentin struck…
I was sitting here talking with my buddy Joshua (Nova) earlier, and he made a good point. Everyone in the entire world talks to one…
I was busted with a knife and been here in the hole (solitary) ever since. Winter months in North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP) are the…
Dear Commonwealth of Virginia: Almost needless to say that the Second Chances bill being tabled again was a huge disappointment. It revealed to me more…
Bic razors used to be available for purchase on the commissary, $1.40 for a pack of ten. Once broken down, the razors were often transformed…
There is something uniquely special about long prison sentences. And knowing you’re going to die in prison. Something indefinable that sets the prospect of decades,…
I am an incarcerated felon who entered our broken criminal justice system (CJS) at age 53, after nearly 30 years as a husband, father, and…
After two weeks in TDCJ’s Woodman Unit and undergoing the rigorous digging into my social, medical, and criminal history, I’m finally standing in the unit…
“NO!” I almost choked on my sweet potatoes as the defeated person walked away from the table, head down, ashamed. She dared to ask one…
Companionship can potentially be essential to someone’s life in society. However, finding companionship in prison is an integral part of the incarcerated person’s journey. I…
From day one I’ve known prison sees me as worthless. I was instantly rushed to solitary confinement since I can’t be trusted to behave. I…
For those of you who have never been to prison, here’s a prison primer — some firsthand knowledge that can give you a…
It’s hot when i walk inside the production area of my first job after prison, and within five minutes I am already sweating so bad…
Late last night while doing a suicide watch all alone in the hole, I sat there thinking that if I had some GoPros, then I…
Captive Voices Writing Program at New Jersey State Prison is a rehabilitative and therapeutic outlet for its participants. In March of 2022, freelance writer Tariq…
The prevalent philosophy today in criminology circles is that all crime is pathological, meaning that they who commit crimes aren’t acting upon a free, moral,…
It’s sometimes hard to think of things to be grateful for when I’m quite literally caged inside the confines of these fences. One thing that…
The air in the mess hall is saturated with fear and tension. A couple hundred convicted murderers, rapist, drug kingpins, and gang bangers have assembled,…
“Stop fighting!” The tower guard is yelling. He’s out on the catwalk of the nearest tower, rifle up. His voice isn’t as urgent, not as…
It’s the last week of November, the middle of the night. Moonless. Cold. And outside the sky is a darkened clutter of dank, drippy clouds.…
I am an army of one, fighting to keep my head above the putrid slimy waters engulfing the prison. I came to prison ten years…
Hi, my name is Justin Welch and I’m a prisoner at Waupun prison in Wisconsin. What I’m about to tell you is not fiction but…
For almost fourteen years, I have been what they call a “Companion” at the Idaho State Correctional Institute just south of Boise. That is, I…
After the 2020 pandemic temporarily shut down all visitors from seeing their loved ones in person–even behind plexiglass–the flow of contraband in prison, such as…
Prison is restrictive, and many items common in the free world are not allowed. But prisoners are an inventive bunch of outlaws without respect for…
Sometime during the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, 06 September 2023, I was informed by a “nurse” that Texas had enacted an institutional lockdown in Texas…
There are a ton of answers that you would receive if you asked an incarcerated person, “If you had one wish, what would it be?”…
I’m serving a life sentence in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A life sentence in Pennsylvania is really a death sentence if one doesn’t get relief…
I stood staring at Ashes through the rusted metal grill that provides the only way to look into a cell. This unit doesn’t have bars;…
Inmates, just like people in free-society, are divided into social classes. After years of incarceration in Arizona, I’ve noticed four distinct social classes of…
It was 4:45 a.m. on an eerie fall morning when a sudden jolt of strange energy went through my body, waking me up. I woke…
Waupun prison is 169 years old and one of the oldest prisons in America. In my cell I can touch each wall standing in the…
I’ve been asked by Randy to write a few words on how the Texas heat has affected me throughout my 16 years of incarceration. I’m…
When I get back to the cell after showering, my cellmate is waiting for me, standing in the middle of the room, pointing at our…
The aging prison population: Causes, costs, and consequences
[Update! As of 8/16, the prison is still in lockdown and the warden and others have been fired.] I’m writing this today because many people…
“So how’s Club Fed?” someone once asked me during a phone call home. For those who don’t know, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has a…
Put to a nicety, Texas summers are ugly. They’re uglier in some regions of the state than others, but in their way just as ugly.…
It’s that dreaded time of year again for Texas prisoners: summertime. A time full of misery-inducing, extreme heat, which causes all kinds of interesting, unique,…
Texas has what they call “old units” and “new units.” My first two prisons were old units, constructed from red brick. The same kind of…
About fifteen years ago or so, a program was proposed by an inmate by the name of Andy Geiger in response to the high rate…
Starting July 17, 2023, all general mail from the public to Texas prisoners will have to be sent to a new digital mail processing center.…
Prisoners look upon the summer months in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) with dread and trepidation. For one is acutely aware that one…
Growing up was different for me than most. I had experienced death early on as a child. Not once, but twice, and in between the…
And I can go on and on about the bad in prison but what happened on 6-22-23 could help change peoples lives. So I feel…
Interpersonal relationships are always important. But, in a prison setting, it is a lot more so. After all, we live in a small community where…
8:15 am / Unit 8 I’d been laying on my bunk, reading a book when I heard the Unit Officer announce my name: “Davis, report…
As you might think, prison has a multitude of rules. So many, in fact, that a person must virtually violate one rule in order to…
Running will always be my escape whether in prison or the outside world. My return to prison has forced me to reassess what is important…
“You awake?” he asks. “Yes.” “Of course you are,” he says. “Come on, get up or we’ll miss it.” The walk to the chow hall…
The green beans would usually spend the night there collecting various field mice, garter snakes, bugs and other critters. Sometimes we'd get a lucky surprise…
A friend asked me about forgiveness. I decided I would explain how I became a better man by putting my life in God’s hands. Learning…
Born with addiction to drugs and raised in chaos, Valerie Baker’s story is a raw and powerful account of surviving addiction, mental illness, and the…
Cat. Yes, cats. In this place they are the pet of choice. Most would pay as much as $100 for a freshly-weened kitten. Around the…
Our prison slang list is straight from our incarcerated friends. One of the best lists out there. Period. What's a prison pocket?
I sat at the computer, intently. I was in the school building at Sing-Sing Correctional Facility’s Inmate Liaison Office (ILC). We shared our office with…
It will probably surprise you to learn a prisoncrat, a complete stranger, can send your loved one to some prison halfway across the country for…
On Monday, January 9, 2023, I reported to the classification building for my annual progress report. They verify your current emergency contact information in case…
There used to be a time in the prison system when convicts had a sense of humor, when jokes in prison were told to make…
Shakedowns. The Virginia Department of Corrections, a bastion of fascism, has mandated that each prison lockdown its institution and search the entire compound for contraband.…
Lately, the news has talked about the lavish living conditions of inmates in a women's prison and made comments about so-called “luxuries,” like canteen stores…
When I was a kid, I always felt different. I never felt like I belonged. I didn’t feel like I completely connected with other boys,…
This is not the wild west. Gunslingers seeking bounty and maverick, overly aggressive politicians should not define American justice. The phrase “tough on crime” is…
“There is a list here of 132 inmates diagnosed with cancer,” the psychologist assigned to my block announced. She was sitting in front of her…
During my time in freedom, I recall parking in airport long-term parking lots. I recall the thick layer of dust that turned into dirt on…
There are many things in life you can’t understand until you’ve lived through them to experience the feelings associated with those moments. With this in…
Dear readers, On September 16, 1995, I shot and killed a man. For that crime I’m deeply and profoundly sorry. No matter how much I’d…
From Merle Haggard and Ozzy Osbourne, Meek Mill and T.I. (all former prisoners) to radios and music-artists inside today, music sets a tone like the musical…
Silence is about as rare in prison as a cold front in hell. For those over the age of forty with a semblance of inner…
The ticking of the clock is the one thing people seldom notice. With the advent of digital watches, one would be hard pressed to hear…
In Wild Cats in Prison, Daniel Harris tells the unexpected story of how a stray tabby named Olivia wandered into Eastham Prison and slowly tore…
BY PATRICK LAMOUR Fifteen minutes a month. That’s how much time you have to call home and speak to your family, if you’re a prisoner…
Prisons are not built, designed or run with “correcting” in mind. Prisons aren’t correcting anyone. These places are put here to destroy hope, break…
I try to sleep all day during the loud hours, so I can find peaceful silence alone overnight while others sleep. Here’s how my reverse…
People in the Florida prison system suffer a mortality rate 2.5 times higher than free people living under Medicaid—the healthcare system created for low-income Americans.…
“Yeah, they shocked his bitch-ass back to life,” a white prison guard said to a few other white guards standing around him laughing at his…
It sounded like thunder. The rumble of bodies slamming against bunks and locker boxes. The grunts, howls, and short yelps of human being responding to…
A few days back, I sat in my cell listening to two white prison guards outside my window hold a conversation about systemic racism in…
We were in the throes of yet another Holiday Season, and the year was soon to pass. At the time, my growing popularity as…
To share a bunk with a man sentenced to life in prison without parole–when you are not–is a surreal experience. Every moment, of every day,…
“All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” –Romans, 3:23 Bookey stood leaning against our cell wall peering down the corridor.…
Apparently I am the last of a dying breed. I believe that drugs taint the blood, muddy intelligent judgment and make you not so alert.…
This is a comment left on Chris’s story about school shooter Ethan Crumbley’s life in prison. His response is below: Chris, you are an exceptional…
Mid-December, it was raining outside and freezing. I lay there trying to get comfortable and warm by getting under my extra (and therefore illegal contraband)…
John Myers, convicted of the most infamous and mysterious cold case in Bloomington’s history, is still in prison. To some, that’s a good thing.…
There are days when passing time in prison becomes nearly unbearable. Each second passes with excruciating slowness. As time ticks by, it almost can…
Squeak. The sound of a mouse atop the last riser to the stairwell. Seeing mice in prison is nothing special. An odd, yet not completely…
I want you to know the contempt I feel. I need you to know in order to purge it from my body in a more…
I hate mail call. I dread it. So many people get mail in prison every night, a lot of it. It is a constant reminder…
Incarceration has an immediate and undeniable impact on relationships with friends and family. We need contact with the outside world. Physical separation, intermittent communication,…
For those of you who don’t know, a Super Max prison is more secure than a maximum-security prison and houses the highest-risk inmates. But…
The demented cement wall I open my eyes to every morning in my cell is more than a century old and bleeds tear gas when…
The pieces are everywhere. I get down on my hands and knees as if in prayer in an effort to retrieve them. One at…
I almost killed myself on April 08, 2020 in Redgranite Correctional Institution in Redgranite, Wisconsin. I’d had enough this day. I exposed a few…
There’s something wrong with my stomach. There has been for a few days now, ever since last Thursday when I was told to pack out…
Roman Noel reflects on “fear in prison” which is his greatest worry behind bars, above violence or time — losing the ability to grow. Drawing…
The LGBTQ community is the most persecuted group of people in Michigan prisons. Between prison guards, other convicts, and the overall MDOC administration, LGBTQ prisoners…
The elderly in prison don’t fight well, was my thought when I saw Isaac hit the infirmary floor. Just not quick enough. Isaac was a…
In October of 2008, my then-girlfriend and I were denied an apartment, forcing us to move back to Arlington from Chicago. At the time I…
The expression “when the time hits you” is used in reference to inmates with long sentences. It’s the moment when long-term incarceration forces an inmate…
Convicts like drugs. A lot. These are their stories… the stories of the most popular drugs in prison. Between 80-90% have some form of substance-abuse…
When I was a big time drug dealer in the street, I had 2 cars, one motorcycle and about $27k cash and I was 21…
After two years of putting up with the rednecks as a permanent worker at the North Florida Reception Center in Lake Butler, I was guaranteed…
When you google "TommyLee Dean", you will not find a full description of everything I am passionately pursuing today, but you will find legitimate productivity…
Kool-Aid reminded me a lot of an uncle I have: older, kind, but also large and gregarious. I used to walk laps around the yard…
Prisoners need outside connections to thrive. Incarceration has an immediate and undeniable impact on relationships with friends and family.
This year the CCWF has grown to include men transitioning to women who haven't had gender reassignment surgery so we now have trans females in…
Escaping from prison. Almost everyone thinks about it. You’re looking at razor ribbon- covered fences or tall brick walls, and you want to be on…
So where do prisoners get their tattoo equipment in prison? I assure you that no American prison sells tattoo guns, needles, or ink, nor do…
One day, in the beginning of December 2020, a number of convicts in my unit in a Michigan prison were infected/reinfected with COVID-19. Our unit…
Prison is sometimes quiet. But it is never still. Peace is not the same as silence, and even then, silence is rare. Noise is constant,…
Prisoners are some of the loneliest people in the world. Our imprisonment is often a result of our own actions, though not in my case.…
Heather D'Aoust has written 30 tips for Surviving Prison. Here is Tip #6: Surviving Coed Gangs in Juvie Prison. I got arrested at 14, facing…
With light being shed on police abuse against suspected lawbreakers this summer, I wonder if the public has taken that newfound knowledge a step further.…
Summer in Texas prisons are deadly. We don’t use our mattresses to sleep on. We can’t. We have to use them as a barricade.…
Aside from the obvious fact that water is needed throughout the day to hydrate the body, it has absolutely no dietary value. So why is…
A number of months ago, I reached a milestone in my own life, one that isn't in any way positive but one that's definitely made…
He's a prison con artist and, for awhile, my cellmate. The day he moved in, all seemed normal—for about five seconds—until he launched into an…
Transitioning back to the girl I was born to be has required much introspection to peel away the layers my indoctrination formed. The first was…
...officers bringing in drugs, female officers having sex with inmates, inmates masturbating off of female officers, gangs extorting inmates to use the prison phone, inmates…
Growing up in the collapsing Soviet Union, I remember my parents trying their hardest to put food on the table. Our most common meal…
You've heard the expression, that "hindsight is 20/20" but nothing prepares you for this. The light of the mind misses nothing. The curtain will lift…
First, what prisoners think of Trump is that he’s done the impossible, which is to take prisoners who would otherwise vehemently despise each other…
My name is Aleksandr Kolpakov. I spent two and a half years at Mesa County Jail fighting my case before I was sent to Buena…
There's a prison underground economy. Capitalism is mimicked. There’s upper-class, middle-class and lower-class. Yes. There are prisoners with and there are prisoners without.
I spoke to my 19 year-old nephew, Cordell, for the first time today. I found myself emotionally torn between realizing that not only have…
I miss obeying human beings. Knowing the cop who is having sex with your best friend will give you a donut when you are hungry…
When the guys upstairs on Row Two and Three flush their waste, it leaks into the pipe chase, oozing into my cell from beneath the…
Maxipads. The world of Kotex. Their use is obvious, right? NOT! It turns out they are incredibly versatile tools. Prison hacks are how we survive…
I wish I had known what it was like to wear chains while walking to court appearances; the fact that if you don't wear several…
Richie waited until the Corrections Officer went by his cell around midnight for the last walking head count of prisoners. He’d made a rope…
No family visitation, although, in all of my five plus years as an inmate, I've never had a visit. Saving myself from the degrading nakedness…
After spending months in isolation, you start to feel as though you have been buried alive. You have people who self-mutilate by cutting themselves. Or…
Most people join gangs just to be accepted or needed. Or they want the feeling that they’re someone important. Or they want to be a…
I stabbed a prison guard when I was at the Barrington Unit in 2014, located between Houston and Galveston, and got an additional 99 year…
No doubt patterned after its judicial system, Texas also has one of the most brutal prison systems in the world. The federal court eventually got…
For the past two decades, up until April 27, 2015, I was living in solitary confinement at the only federal Supermax prison in America, ADX…
Today marks four years without him — son, oldest brother, grandson, USMC honor graduate, lifelong friend, 25 year-old with a laugh you can’t resist…
“Slavery and rehabilitation cannot coexist. The application of one will diminish the other.” —El Presynt Imagine a young woman who is addicted to heroin. Judging…
When I was a kid my parents didn’t have any trouble getting me to eat my vegetables. Or any of my food, really. Of course,…
In Virginia, there are 6 levels of security, Level One being the lowest – with the most privileges — and “Level S” is the highest…
Flames surged out of cell A-250, well-fueled by rolled-up newspapers, cardboard, and clothing collected by the cell’s lone occupant, Ryan Nieves. He wanted the…
My 25 years of experience doing time in prison make me an expert at avoiding the pitfalls of prison. All prisons are different, but…
It took twenty-two years of hard time in prison for me to get how deep gratitude is. I’ve found it to be a force in…
When prisoners tested positive for the coronavirus at my prison, Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio, they were sent to solitary confinement to recover and quarantine.…
33 lessons I learned in a women’s prison: The people in the position to help the most have the power to hurt the most. People…
Those who claim to know such things tell us that ten thousand hours given to any one task leads to mastery of that task.…
Read Part One: A Teenager’s First Day in Prison Everyone in the group began to ask the guard, “What unit am I going to?” He…
Dear Drugs, I have been free of you only a few weeks and my mind is just clear enough to know I miss you. Every…
"It lasted all night. I stayed up, hidden under my cover, scared that they'd find out about me. About what I did. I pissed myself.…
I officially retired November 30th, 2007 at the ripe old age of 24, and it’s great! I am now part of a government-sponsored adult day…
Our doctors look like Doogie Howser and approach patients like a short order cook does breakfast. It’s easy to believe we’re part of some unknown…
Users use whatever is available, and all price does is move them from one drug to another. “White people are starting to figure that out,”…
I died that night. Twice. Later, I was told that when I arrived at the medical department I did not have a heartbeat and I…
When you're in the hole (solitary confinement), there's only three things that can alleviate loneliness and boredom: jacking off, taking a shit and pacing back…
To some extent, anything that Texas prisoners are permitted to read, possess, or receive through the mail has always been censored, if not denied…
There are two main emotions every convict locked away in America is forced to cope with during his incarceration: Anger, and Loneliness. Anger at the…
I don’t think that anyone believes U.S. prisons will ever serve quality meals, certainly prisoners are not holding their breath. I have come across…
My son, Jay has been locked up for twenty-three years and is doing life. He received ninety-nine years for assaulting a guard while at the…
I am a mother of three children and the partner of an incarcerated individual. He’s a good man. A man who made mistakes as a…
Texas has so many prisons its motto should be “The Gulag State” instead of The Lone Star State. After the 1990s decade of massive prison…
Monday, Tomoka's first fatality was recorded. No info on who it was or cause of death. Latest TV news reported 18 prisoners and 4 staff…
More than 80% of prisoners at Marion Correctional Institute are Covid-19 positive. 4 have died. Wayne Snitzky, who is positive, has the latest report. Come…
January 20, 2020: Listening to NPR, I hear something about a mysterious disease that alarmed China into building 2 hospitals in 5 days to handle…
Covid19 has affected Ohio’s prisons like it has the outside population, slowly. As things have slowly clamped down out there, they have clamped down in…
Now we are faced with the coronavirus pandemic threatening to wash through prisons nationwide like the Passover Angel of Death. What are we to do?
My bunkie Michael Jackson (his real name... he's white; uhm, was born white), who came down with his symptoms just a few hours before me,…
Prisoners usually enjoy sharing their pictures, reliving their lives before everything went south, showing that they inhabited a robust, colorful existence beyond the current beige…
Simple communication could prevent so much trouble in prison. It is my experience that guards do not communicate with inmates effectively or at all. Guards…
Today I had to go to the clinic to get a medical check-up. My ducat was for 7:30 a.m. I arrived at the medical wing…
The guards conduct their master count at 10 p.m. each night, going from cell to cell with their list, calling out each person’s name in…
Christopher from California writes about how a stray dog named Sprocket wandering a prison camp briefly restores a sense of humanity and shared memory among men…
The one thing nobody knows about prison is that it can be fun. SAY WHAT?? I know you weren’t expecting that, but it’s true. Now…
About fifty prisoners, out of 1500 or so in this prison, crowded into the visiting area this morning. Barely three percent of the total population…
What would you think if I told you that amongst America’s prison blues, prison uniforms and prison commonality there existed a thriving and flourishing fashion…
A year ago, the heat became stuck wide open in another unit. Sweat stained grievances choked the collection box. In particular, one prisoner filed emergency…
I want to talk about disappointment. There is no internet access in prison — no-e-mail, texting, or IM. So if you want to communicate with…
I’m in the Hobby Unit in Texas and my view on things is crazy but very realistic. It’s like someone picked a bunch of convicts…
Yesterday I was moved to a cell with an observation camera in it. There was a good reason for the move, although the staff was…
Other than a person’s age there is no greater indicator of whether someone will recidivate than one’s level of education.
SUPER FRIENDS SUMMARY from AMAZON: In late 2008 twenty-four year old Cincinnati native Whitney Smith begins writing a blog he titles “Super Friends” from his…
“Dope is how I do my time,” Dale explained, after asking me about the availability of drugs in prisons I’d that he might be transferred.…
Copyright Prison Writers 2026
Website design and build by steventwigg.ca