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…
Jamall Brown died in prison after being denied insulin while in custody at Riverside County Jail. Jayson Slaymaker explains why he thinks medical neglect is…
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…
Robert Porter IV explores what it means to refuse to commit violence in prison, arguing that true strength lies in restraint, compassion, and moral clarity…
In the ghetto, there’s lots of improvisation. As young boys, we were very active and had loads of energy. We liked to play…
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…
Jayson Scott Slaymaker explains how one of the rare prison programs that fostered real growth and accountability inside administrative segregation became vulnerable once it began…
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…
Phoenix Ra explains how New Jersey Parole Board reform is urgently needed as the Board repeatedly exceeds its lawful authority, undermines sentencing courts, and perpetuates…
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…
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…
Anthony McCarary recounts the terror of being attacked in prison while asleep, and how the experience changed his life. One of the most frightening experiences…
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’…
Due to the media’s distortion of prison life and the people incarcerated there, most of society envisions Illinois “max joints” to be a milieu of…
Chris Dankovich writes about the prison grievance system that’s supposed to give the incarcerated a means of addressing injustices, without retribution. But what happens when…
Kevin “Rashid” Johnson writes about Virginia’s Red Onion Prison, which became the center of a growing scandal in 2024 as prisoners launched hunger strikes and…
Jerry Metcalf explains how prison overdose deaths—like that of a young inmate who died alone on a cell floor after using K2—expose the brutal failure…
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…
Female inmate abuse is rampant in many women’s prisons. Amber Martens recounts her first experience with it. Amber Martens will never forget her first experience…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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,…
Kacey Maret describes what happens in a prison riot when prisoners gained control of his Nebraska prison in 2015. Trigger Warning: Graphic Violence I had just…
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…
My experience with suicide watch in prison occurred on the very first night I was there. Arriving at the county jail after midnight, I was…
As a hardcore criminal, it was only a matter of time before I went to prison. What every detective knows, and most criminals don’t, is…
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…
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…
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…
For years now, I have been writing to places like Prison Writers about the conditions of confinement at the Ely State Prison (E.S.P.) in Ely,…
Virginia prisons have never had a good reputation by any stretch. Racist staff, a long history of abusive staff which continues to this day, dilapidated…
Jury bias in the American court system continues to undermine fair trials, leading to wrongful convictions rooted in racism, hearsay, and systemic injustice. I’d like…
Recently I witnessed another act of violence in prison. A young man – younger than me anyway and I’m almost thirty-five – beating up an…
In one sense, prisoners with mental disabilities have the same needs as everybody else. But in a crucial sense, our situation is dramatically different. Let…
“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…
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…
Prisoners Edgar Garcia and Mark Snarr couldn’t have scripted the murder of another prisoner, Gabriel Rhone, any better. Given that each of them were in…
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…
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…
January 1990, a day after my 13th birthday, I still felt euphoric from the alcohol and weed I smoked the night before. But my euphoria…
Drugs are so ubiquitous and readily available you start to wonder how many guards are on the take and how high it goes up in…
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…
In yet another vain attempt to display their “power,” a gang task force did a walkthrough of our pod, our building and our compound today.…
The thought of being locked inside a small two-man cell to defend yourself against a knife-wielding maniac should be a scary one. Yet one’s fear,…
A former Latin Kings heavy (with a hit out on him) risks his life to describe how the gang works.
An early scene in The Shawshank Redemption has the old-school convicts watching the new fish get off the bus and placing bets on which one…
“Approximately 28% of the [FBI’s domestic covert action] efforts were designed to weaken groups by setting members against each other or to separate groups which…
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…
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…
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…
As a former cop, I understand that the demands and stress of the “job” forces a person to change in order to do their duties.…
For three decades, I have witnessed countless occasions in which Emergency Response Teams are assembled to carry out chemical cell extractions of disruptive prisoners,…
One of the most dangerous places where you see prison violence is in the whole prison system is the outside recreational area, known as…
YOU OVERSLEPT. So you are rushing. Maybe to a call-out or program. You throw on your greens. Lace up your boots. A buzzer screams, long…
I have been in prison for 34 years, serving a life sentence for a murder I did not commit. My trial judge was the father-in-law…
The world changed when a shocked nation saw the horrific video of George Floyd’s life being snuffed out by officer Derek Chauvin. Floyd’s death sparked…
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…
In Michigan we call it selling slum. A symphony of baritones, reverberating air full of testosterone: men in discord. After a certain point, I don’t…
Over a year into the Covid19 pandemic and America's quarantine shut-downs, most state prisons continue to operate under some form of lockdown, including the WA…
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…
I have been housed in dozens of facilities in 10 different states, so I can assure you that abuse by prison guards continues to be…
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.…
“Man, this shit is loose up there. One of these bitches is gonna go, but I think it might have to be a white guy.”…
In Texas Prisons, guards are notorious for beating, killing, and harassing prisoners. They also set up prisoners to be attacked by other prisoners while handcuffed…
I got out of the Bloods. I realized that it is virtually impossible to consider someone your "brother" without the visceral love that comes with…
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…
Never walk away from a fight. Never back down. Lock eyes, stand firm, and don't bow to anyone but God or a badge. You may…
How Latin Kings operate is simple: in the beginning you’re reeled in with the beauty that comes with the unification between you and your own…
On July 1, 2011, California prisoners launched a massive hunger strike to call attention to what we were all forced to endure: inhumane conditions…
BY VICTOR BECERRA As a society, we are supposed to notify the authorities when we see someone committing a crime. But what are we as…
The story of my life in prison started in November of 2010. I came to prison for the first time in my entire life.…
I yelled "GAS, GAS!" two or three times while the Nigerian floor guard began beating on the door, begging to be let out. Getting no…
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…
The best thing about being in prison is getting out. To do that, an inmate has two options, aside from dying while inside. The…
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…
We face pure uncut racism everyday we wake up. We deal with these correctional officers every day, many of us trying to respect them, knowing…
When I saw Snake stop near Smokey’s table, right behind Smokey’s wife, and rear his arm back, I said to myself, “He wouldn’t do that.”…
Outside, the chow hall door opens. Spacemen enter. Gas masks and shields. Six black "fire extinguishers" fog the air, sending men scrambling. Human bug-spray.
Every time I watch the news footage of that cop murdering Mr. George Floyd, I cringe. And not only because it resulted in Mr. Floyd’s…
“Pack your panties, ladies!” I remember the prison guard yelling, while banging on the cell bars with his baton. “I’ve got two tickets to hell…
It is no secret that the state has used the Prison system as a dumping ground for the mentally ill. Common sense would lead an…
"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.…
These 3 ranking officers emptied 2 small cans of chemical agents and used 4 big cans emptying at least 2 of them – all within…
Yes, I know what you see in movies. Yes, I know what you see on television. Yes, some of it’s true. Racial tensions are always…
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,…
To my disbelief, he told me that he needed my assistance in testifying against persons I didn’t even know. Shock must have registered on my…
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…
While this Texas prison, Clements Unit, has well over one-thousand documented mentally ill prisoners, its not considered a psych unit at all. In fact it…
In the cell, the dayroom, on the yard, at work and in the clinic, there’s no refuge. The rapes, beatings, robbery, threats, and sadly the…
Editor’s Note: Michael Daniels has been released from prison and is finally home with his family. This story was written before his release and remains…
One day I was returning from the morning yard recreation. As I neared the entrance gate, I heard a “Thwap!” and saw a body fall…
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…
The sun was a brilliant orange ball dropping slowly behind the Adirondack mountain range. As far as the eye could see, spring had dressed…
This is a true story, a story of prisoners killing other prisoners, witnessed by me, Sidney Martin. It was a hot June afternoon at Lawrenceville…
” …he allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers…
Gilbert Paliotta, Department of CorrectionsAfter almost 20 years of being in maximum, I’ve come to notice the types of individuals that choose to work in…
“The next time I have to tell you something twice, I’m gonna knock ya teeth outta ya mouth,” he whispered, his breath hot against my…
Captain lost his life, Grumpy died in misery, and the prison riot that ensued when the prison system’s inadequate healthcare was overlooked and left untreated,
Throughout my 22 years of incarceration, I’ve survived many shades of torture. My most horrible experience was in 1995, in the federal prison in Terre…
The alarm went off, signaling that once again the prison was about to be shut down and placed on lock-down because of the major fights…
An obese, red-faced prison guard, his grey hair greased back, gets up from his swivel chair and shouts, “Hey retard, get over here!” He points…
Even after two decades of incarceration, I still enjoy hearing about my loved ones’ vacations. Partly it allows me to live vicariously through their adventures,…
After my sentencing I was sent to a receiving unit here in Virginia. There they monitor you for a period of time to determine if…
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