Category: Featured

Gordon Grilz writes about the loaded language used to label people in prison — and why labeling people in a dehumanizing way does nobody any…

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…

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…

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…

Jerry Metcalf recounts the terrifying moments of a deadly fire in prison, when guards fled through choking smoke and locked inmates were left to suffocate—until…

BEING ABLE TO SIT DOWN AND EXPRESS CERTAIN SECRETS FROM MY CHILDHOOD AND UPBRINGING IS A BIT MORE DIFFICULT THAN EXPECTED. I'm now 44 years…

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…

Charles Norman went to prison in 1978 on what he has been claiming ever since was a wrongful life sentence. He wrote this article exactly…

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…

UPDATE: James Duckett was set to be executed on March 31, but last week the high court issued a stay of execution for Duckett until…

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…

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,…

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.…

I’m a stick-up kid who robs any thing that moves. If they had money or drugs, or better yet, both, I did not hesitate to…

So you’re looking for love? You’re one of those who has yet to find that person to walk your journey with. You’ve decided to widen…

Michael Philpot writes that redemption is possible when incarcerated individuals are given a chance to share their stories, highlighting how platforms like Prison Writers help…

  Leonard Scovens ended up writing a book, Wildflowers in the Median, with the mother and grandmother of his victims. His longer story on the…

This is the story of my escape from prison in 2010.  What you're about to read is 100% true and you can look it up…

Charles Norman writes about prison gangs in Florida in a way only someone who has been in prison for more than FOUR decades could. Two…

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,…

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,…

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…

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,…

In prison, it’s not necessary for you to be a racist in order for you to act like one, to live within the confines of…

The situation, simply put: for families of the incarcerated, life is brutal. Sad. Devastating to family structure and closeness. Difficult financially. Painful. Wrenching, forcing families…

Joseph Dole writes about why parole reform for violent offenders is essential to reducing mass incarceration while maintaining public safety. The Purpose of Parole The…

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…

Anthony McCarary writes about the brutal world of prison gangs, where loyalty is often tested—and sometimes shattered—by the rigid lines of race and power. He…

Prison can be a scary place. Even scarier can be the IDEA of prison for someone who is facing it, especially if that someone has…

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,…

It’s no secret that I’m incarcerated because I killed my husband. My ongoing joke that I tell staff and other inmates is that me and…

Our Virginia writer explains how he followed his daddy into a life of selling drugs, he's been shot 9 times, he killed his best friend,…

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…

Jeremy Busby explains how he pulled off the biggest hip hop concert in Texas prison history — starring Trapboy Freddy. By the time I arrived…

Dan Grote describes what happens when you match up a violent drug kingpin with two life sentences — with a dog in prison named Fred.…

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…

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…

In April of 2008, my son was arrested for accidentally killing a Columbia graduate student while trying to impress a group of shallow friends who…

You are familiar with his work: the lovable face of Home Improvement, the voice of “Pure Michigan” and Buzz Lightyear … as well as the…

Rule number one of prison: the tougher you look, the easier your ability to choose the person you want to be while inside. Be labeled…

Our prison slang list is straight from our incarcerated friends. One of the best lists out there. Period. What's a prison pocket?

I was following my dream to become a great actor/writer and filmmaker. Acting was a way to escape my abusive childhood. I was sexually molested…

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…

An informal, unedited phone conversation between two friends who both agreed to be recorded. One, a former Latin Kings hitman and the other, a female…

Self-mutilation seems to be a common coping mechanism. Cutting and bleeding. I've seen many hang themselves with a sheet.

Everyone’s always shocked to learn that smuggling drugs into prison happens all the time. And everyone is always shocked to learn just how so many…

  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…

In my 29 years in prison, I’ve only known two serial killers personally. The most infamous one was Elmer Wayne Henley. He has had numerous…

There are all types of contraband in prison usually due to corrupt staff and visitors who come in.  But why do prison guards smuggle contraband…

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…

  During a 13-year period, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer brutally killed 17 men he lured back to his apartment, promising to pay them for posing…

I have a very intimate understanding of the effects of long-term isolation on a  person's mental and physical health. I spent a long time in…

...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…