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Life Inside ·
Filed 6:00 a.m. EDT
10.04.2024

Life Inside, Remixed: What 90 Days in Jail Taught a Poet About America

Ravi Shankar was born in D.C. to South Indian parents. But it took going to jail for him to fully understand what many other Americans of color face.
By The Marshall Project

Pushcart award-winning poet and English professor Ravi Shankar reflects on the “casual sadism” of life in a Hartford, Connecticut, jail. The 90 days he served for a misdemeanor deepened his understanding of systemic racism in America and showed him how seemingly small things like the height of a basketball hoop can result in chaos.

The essay animated by Grace Shin is part of “Inside Story,” The Marshall Project’s groundbreaking video series distributed online and in correctional facilities across the U.S.

Watch the latest season, with new episodes landing every Thursday at 11 a.m. ET on The Marshall Project’s website and YouTube channel. Episodes can also be watched on the Scripps News network on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.

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Tags: →Corrections Officers →County Jails →Racism →Connecticut →Hartford, Connecticut →Life Inside →Inside Story →Animation
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