Choosing Life Without Parole Through Plea Bargain
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…
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…
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…
Jeremy Busby writes about a friend on death row whose influence transformed his life in prison and whose legacy continues long after his execution by…
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…
Daniel Harris writes about the frustration of collective punishment in Texas prisons — when lockdowns, lost privileges, and harsh restrictions fall on everyone because of…
Terry Sellers describes how personal growth in prison began with a blunt warning from an older mentor and evolved into a life-changing journey from anger…
Andrew Krosch reflects on prison friendship — a fragile, complicated bond, shaped as much by unspoken rules and survival instincts as by genuine human connection.…
I’d never heard of Alexis Patterson until I had a conversation with an inmate over the summer (2021) about her. I’ve since learned, through friends…
Beau Brown explains how life in solitary strips a person to their core, revealing truths about prison, punishment, and the fragile threads of humanity that…
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,…
Tracy Lee Kendall continues his profile of Monty Lee Johnston, a white supremacist gang leader who got out of prison and returned to volunteer at…
Ty Evans explains how living with bad cellmates inside a maximum-security prison can test patience, push boundaries, and even provoke violent thoughts. I stood over…
Jerry Metcalf tells the touching story of an inmate living in a Michigan prison managed to develop a college art course for prisoners across the…
Iceman and Cowboy capitalized on this by envisioning the "Aryan Circle" (possibly the first white prison gang originating in Texas), formulating their bylaws and constitution,…
The District Attorney of Los Angeles and his entire office is recommending that the Menendez brothers be resentenced, and if the judge agrees, one or…
Chris Dankovich describes how a group of prisoners experimented with “Holotropic Breathwork” in prison with astonishing results. Nathan puts his hand to his head. “Bro, this…
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…
Arnold Barnes recounts a harrowing prison transport experience that exposes the chaos, humiliation, and shock of arriving at a new facility where danger and disbelief…
Ramelle explains how sports in prison plays an important role in not only keeping inmates out of trouble but also changing their attitudes towards one…
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…
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…
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…
When you’re white and you end up in California’s prison system, you have to join a white power gang. You don’t have a choice if…
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…
Making cotton candy unveils profound gratitude in prison, highlighting moments of joy behind bars. Every quarter, the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) incentivizes us to complete…
John William Stout was confident he could win at trial, even without an attorney, because “the DNA evidence can’t be mine. It didn’t test positive…
I have a scar on the index finger of my left hand. It’s barely noticeable, even though it traverses the pad, wrapping around almost touching…
Some of my Christian brothers first pointed Irish out to me in the chow hall of the maximum security prison we call home. He was…
Spending a long time in prison, you learn to read the way that people walk and move. It becomes both a survival instinct, as well…
The sound echoed around the cell block, crashing against the concrete wall with the force of each angry blow. A few guys yelled out,…
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…
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.…
My cellmate and I were like best friends. We ate together, shared our family photos and were a perfect match. The both of us had…
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…
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…
The other day, while walking down the hallway here in my prison housing unit, I noticed something odd lying on the floor. I stooped to…
Timmy’s a mess. If he were free, you’d call him developmentally-disabled and allot him a certain amount of consideration. But he’s not free, so no…
Each morning I wake up, I fix my hair and do my make up to get ready for lunch that’s served at 9am on most…
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…
The elderly in prison creates unique challenges for the criminal justice system, including higher medical costs and the need for special housing and programming. CDOC’s …
Let me start out by telling you all this story about my very close friend Mr. William Zamastil, aka the unknown Serial Killer. My name…
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…
This story starts on September 22, 2022 in Wisconsin Department of Corrections. I’m doing life in prison for murder. I will never see the outside…
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…
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…
“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…
In 1998, I arrived at Trenton State Prison to begin a 50 year sentence, 30 years without the possibility of parole for the fatal car…
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…
What do we, in here, is really think about what we’ve done to you. Most of us are not very honest about that — with…
Only the strong survive. Those were the words I was told in 1999 when I was sentenced to 20 years in the Texas Department of…
Many claim the title of “Convict,” but few live up to the Convict Code of Conduct. Convicts are not made, they are born a…
“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…
We were in the throes of yet another Holiday Season, and the year was soon to pass. At the time, my growing popularity as…
I’ve met multiple serial killers, hitmen, Dr. Jack Kevorkian (reviled in here for being a prison-snitch and an all-around jerk), the “Jenny Jones Show Killer”…
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.…
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.…
I was never able to trust anyone in my entire life, family, so-called friends, teachers, authority figures, whoever they were. I couldn’t trust anyone due…
Deception and propaganda is an every day theme in prison life. Some utilize it to disguise their fears and insecurities, to create a façade of…
Prison means living with mentally ill prisoners. Where did they expect psychiatric patients to end up when they cut Federal Funding for mental health beds?…
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 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…
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…
His guidance increased my wisdom and maneuverability exponentially, especially seeing that this was my very first year in prison. I expected to have to fight,…
I’ve always turned to literature as my means of escape, especially in the midst of painful situations and despair. So, it’s only fitting that I…
I would like to share some advice with fathers in prison, especially those of you who are younger than I am, why my children are…
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…
“Young brother,” said Old Man John, trying to get my attention away from my computer screen and the furious typing I was doing. “I need…
Benjamine Spencer never stopped being who he is, no matter what the world and prison threw at him.
I turned forty recently. (Please hold the applause.) Never in a billion years would I have ever envisioned that I would hit the big 4-0…
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…
Over the past 18 months, twenty-three incarcerated men died at the Jessup Regional Hospital (JRH), according to an unnamed staffer at JRH. Many were elderly…
You've been in prison long enough, you've had some really gross cellmates. I've been listening to Quick try to cough his lungs out for days.…
"Biden said he's sorry for all that crazy shit in his past," G, another African American friend of mine says with a shrug. "If we…
A surprising number of white supporters are inside prison for rape, child-molestation, fraud, and embezzlement. In these and white-supremacist groups, he enjoys about a 95%…
First one voice joined in, then another and another. I repeated the Jingle Bells chorus, and more of the wing joined in, laughing like crazy,…
We all are human. Cops and inmates alike. The authorities know we have needs. There are crazy rules, like no drinking and smoking. There are…
Nicholas Laumann from Wisconsin writes about how an unlikely mentor saved him behind bars. I thought I was destined for prison long before I ever…
Hanging out or talking to a sex offender in prison is extremely taboo. In fact, it could possibly get you hurt or even killed.…
My first cellmate in one of Michigan’s adult prisons was an axe murderer. More specifically, he was a serial killer who killed multiple people with…
In the past several years, there have been numerous court rulings that have declared segregation in prison housing unconstitutional. The United States as a…
One of the best ways to insure that you can make a bad situation in here worse is to become a “rock kicker.” A…
Gabriele was an upbeat cat for a prisoner with a life sentence. I remember the day that I met him. I was having a difficult…
From the first day I stepped foot in a jail cell, I immediately got a good taste of what it’s liked to be housed around…
If you woke in the middle of the night and heard your neighbor being robbed, you could hear that he was about to be stabbed,…
“Hey, did you see that kid in the wheelchair today?” “No.” I say. “When did he get here?” “I think he just rode in yesterday…
Peter was a nineteen-year-old bisexual inmate who was rumored to be a convicted sex offender. That was already at least two strikes. He was also…
Scottie’s Thorazine shots became routine, every two weeks. If Scottie resisted, which he did at first, he’d get beaten up, four-pointed, and still get the…
The sun was a brilliant orange ball dropping slowly behind the Adirondack mountain range. As far as the eye could see, spring had dressed…
Where is Ted Bundy's Daughter? Charles Norman, who has been in prison for decades, knew Ted Bundy, knows how he was able to impregnate a…
Jermaine from New York describes prison acts of kindness when he got sick in Sing Sing during a brutal flu outbreak — and the unexpected…
Early this morning, just before breakfast, I was jarred awake by the yells of an eerily familiar voice. It was the grainy, guttural bark which…
Death stands in the path of all prisoners here with a chronic or terminal illness. It may step out of their way for a time,…
Here, "normal," i.e. civil, is as alien to prisoners as criminal activity is to decent people. Therefore, it is difficult to embrace change when it…
Convict or Inmate? First of all, the two are definitely not, in any way, synonymous. The first is a state of being – and describes who…
Back in the 70s and 80s at Western Penitentiary, one of the oldest prisons in the world, the Shawshank Redemption was real; the prisons literally…
Read Wayne Snitzy's WINNING STORY for PrisonWriters.com's 2018 National Prison Writing Contest!
2017 marks a tragic year in North Carolina prisons. Five Correctional Officers (COs) were murdered by inmates who believed they had nothing left to lose.…
When I first started to write this article, it was almost an easy choice because the most memorable person I got to know in prison…
Getting a visit can almost be harder than not ever setting any at all. The pain of seeing them walk away, for what can seem…
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