Category: My Crime

Dwight Jackson writes about crack addiction and burglary, tracing how his first break-in, at 23 years old, led to arrests, escape attempts, relapse, and a…

Troy David writes about how juvenile crime can grow out of insecurity, peer pressure, and a desperate need to fit in. His story shows how…

Michael Philpot writes about his remorse in prison, knowing his victims will “never see a beautiful sunset, taste a home-cooked meal, or see or be…

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…

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…

Robert Blankenship’s case is a textbook example of wrongful indictment, the result of fraudulent legal maneuvers and ignored procedural rights. I am in prison on…

Anthony McCarcary writes about how a broken prison system can derail brilliant minds, trap the innocent, and make reentry into society nearly impossible. People often…

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…

Since the day Daniel Hyden crashed his car into a crowd of NYC partygoers, killing four people, he says the only relief he’s had from…

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,…

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…

Malik Shabbaz reflects on his past choices, the consequences that followed, and his journey toward redemption and self-discovery through pain and perseverance. I did so…

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…

Marcus Beri ponders how difficult it will be for him to find a life partner after serving time in prison.  How do I find my…

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.…

MarQui Clardy grapples with why he chose money over love when he committed a series of armed robberies that destroyed the most promising romance of…

On Memorial Day 2002, I drove to the home of my estranged mother and father and shot them dead. I killed my parents. It’s hard…

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…

This is why I return to prison over and over again. Straight to the point: me thinking I can game the system, beat it, get…

In the 1978 movie Midnight Express, American hashish smuggler Billy Hayes serves a few years in a Turkish prison. Then he gets resentenced to life…

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…

Shakeil Price:  A plea deal I never knew existed cost me my freedom — and exposed how the system fails the people it’s supposed to…

Since 1989, 3,000 people who were wrongly convicted have been exonerated. In roughly 69% of those exonerations, there was testimony provided by witnesses that proved…

I’m many things, but I’m not a killer. I didn’t kill anyone. This is my story. My name is Jaime Jezzuel Lopez. I was born…

This powerful firsthand account challenges the notion that justice is blind, revealing how money, influence, and access to legal resources often tip the scales—while the…

A former Latin Kings heavy (with a hit out on him) risks his life to describe how the gang works.

I grew up in a backwoods redneck family, born the fourth (and last) child of good parents that did their best to raise me in…

Another mentally deranged kid marches into a school and mows down nineteen other kids and two teachers with an assault rifle. How the hell do…

November was warm. As I drove to work, it felt like fall might go on forever. I opened my sunroof and allowed the playlist on…

On April 4th, 2011 I was pulled over for a taillight being burnt out. No big deal, right? Usually no, however I was “methin’ around”…

My original appellate attorney did not raise my judge's use of acquitted conduct at sentencing as a due-process violation. But in 2006 I hired James…

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…

          April 21, 2022 is wind in the trees under a cloud-painted gray sky.  In “Flatliners,” Kiefer Sutherland would have called…

All the experiences throughout this crazy life render me prone to forget that what I find normal can be shocking to others. There is a…

The following story about prison rape may be sensitive to some readers. Readers discretion is advised. Note, it is not my intention to offend anyone.…

  Last night I received a letter from a friend of mine, and inside the envelope was a story I wrote seven years ago about…

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…

I am guilty of a terrible crime and a gross violation of my own ethical code. The fact that I was delusional and out of…

I came clean. "I struggle with feeling remorse for Frank because, if he didn't try to pull that move, he'd be alive and I wouldn’t…

I produced an hour documentary on Kristin Rossum when I was a producer for CBS’s 48 Hours. Here is a summary. Did Kristin get what…

I won’t say I’m not a criminal anymore because when I see something on TV my mind automatically sees the quick way I could or…

It is strange to look back on your life and try to understand how a devout Christian child could voluntarily become a slave to a…

Dear _______,  You don’t know me. Not really. We each had a major part to play in each other’s lives. In fact, you took mine.…

I’m not perfect. I am too broken to ever be, but I can finally be proud of the man I am. For me, that is…

Brutal Murders. Victims Stabbed 83 Times. Those were just some of the headlines above stories filled with truth and lies. Stories about a sociopathic monster.…

On April 4, 2011, I was pulled over for a taillight being burnt out. No big deal, right? Usually no, however I was “methin’ around”…

How do I begin to tell you about my crime and the insane, muddled mess I made out my life in just a few days?…

The reason this moment is different than normal: I have a warrant (that’s normal), I’m driving without any ID on me (that’s normal), and I…

THE JURORS GASPED when they saw the photo. I was on the witness stand in federal court when my attorney entered the photo as an…

Sitting in a prison cell would make anyone look back and consider what went wrong, but for me it’s obvious. Don’t get me wrong, before…

I started stealing when I was 4, from yards and shoplifting. I don’t know where I learned it, but I knew it was wrong.  I…

Let's be clear RIGHT from the start, I am an innocent man. Like 110% innocent. I know, everyone in prison says they are innocent, they…

This is a look at prison life from both sides of the glass. I am a former corrections officer, now serving a 7-year sentence. I…

April 5, 1978, dawned clear and bright in Tampa, Florida. My father was sick, at home, and I drove out to Thonotosassa, east of Tampa,…