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Inside Story ·

Toll of Prison Staff Shortages on Guards, Prisoners and Their Families

Prison staff shortages impact guards, prisoners and their families, and comedian Donnell Rawlings talks about his connection to the system.

America’s prisons are facing staffing shortages. Inside Story reveals what this means for incarcerated people, their families and the corrections staff tasked with making prisons run.

Host Lawrence Bartley catches up with comedian Donnell Rawlings on tour to learn how he went from being a military police officer to the stand-up stage, and how his personal connection to the system impacted him.

And Carol Shapiro, former assistant commissioner at New York’s Rikers Island, explains how trying to make a difference during a stint on the state’s parole board changed the way she sees the system altogether.

In his closing message, Bartley remembers a visit to a Texas prison and being able to watch an incarcerated person feeling the sunshine on his face after months of being held inside because of staffing shortages.

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CONTRIBUTORS

Shannon Heffernan, Gilad Thaler, Anna Flagg, Tom Meagher, Rochelle Widdowson, Carol Shapiro, Lily Padula, K Downs, Chelsea Beck, Akiba Solomon, Raghuram Vadarevu, Marci Suela

EDITORIAL PARTNER

USA Today

Lawrence Bartley Twitter Email is the publisher of The Marshall Project Inside, the organization’s publications intended specifically for incarcerated audiences. He is an accomplished public speaker and has provided multimedia content for CNN, PBS, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC and more. News Inside is the recipient of the 2020 Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media.

Donald Washington, Jr. Email is the director and executive producer of Inside Story, a video series designed to reach audiences both inside and outside of prison walls. He is a self-taught filmmaker who honed his skills working with local Brooklyn artists and grassroots organizations. Donald holds a graduate degree from the New York Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science degree from Mercy College. Previously, Donald was the co-founding president of the Back-To-School Fund, a fundraising group supplementing the educational needs of children with incarcerated parents in New York State prisons. In 2015, he was presented with the Ossie Davis Award for his excellence in community service by Hudson Link for Higher Education.