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Inside Story

Developed by formerly incarcerated people, a new video series examines the realities of the U.S. criminal justice system.

A Black man wearing a red T-shirt that reads “No kids in Angola” shouts during a protest at the Louisiana state Capitol against the state’s decision to house some youth at the adult prison Angola.
Episode 01

When Kids Are Punished Like Adults

Louisianans protest temporary youth housing in notorious Angola, and Bryan Stevenson speaks on sentencing reform.
Left, a man wearing an olive green Nike-branded hooded sweatshirt and an olive green Yankees hat; right, a Black woman with braided hair is wearing earrings and a plum-colored shirt.
Episode 02

Prison Labor, Low Wages and the Side Hustle

Incarcerated workers turn to side hustles to survive. On the outside, comedian Luenell reflects on her time behind bars — and in show business.
Two older White tourists stand behind the bars of a jail cell to be photographed by a woman holding a camera phone.
Episode 03

Changing Perceptions of Prisons and Policing

We explore prison tourism and the balance between glorification and education, and meet two detectives trying to change the image of policing.
A portrait of a White man smiling and wearing a tank top is mounted inside of a picture frame.
Episode 04

Police Shootings in Rural America

We investigate police shootings in rural areas and speak with music executive Jason Flom about his work with people who were wrongfully convicted.
Left, a gravesite with a cross and decorated with flowers on a sunny day with blue skies; right: a White woman with medium-length brown hair wearing an orange shirt and leaning against a brown wall.
Episode 05

Drug Addiction and the Paths to Prison

We learn how prosecutors can turn one of the darkest days in a mother’s life into a prison term, and hear Tarra Simmons’ journey from behind bars to writing laws.
A group of people, including formerly incarcerated people, pose for a selfie with one of them holding out their phone, on a deck that overlooks a small pond nestled among some green trees.
Episode 06

Glimpses of Prison Life, through TikTok and TV

We see how glimpses of life behind bars go viral online, and talk with Piper Kerman about creating “Orange is the New Black.”
A Black man with square-framed glasses and a thin, slightly graying beard, sits in a Florida prison wearing a blue uniform and looking down.
Episode 07

The Rise of Life-Without-Parole Sentences

We explore sentences that imprison people for life without parole, and comedian Ali Siddiq unpacks his behind-bars beginning in comedy.
Left, a Black woman holds a photo of herself in a red dress sitting alongside her husband, a Black man with a beard wearing a blue T-shirt and a gold crucifix chain; right, the Black woman with short hair, earrings and a white shirt, looks into the distance.
Episode 08

Violence on the Inside, Mentorship From the Outside

We investigate violence at one of the newest federal prisons and talk with La La Anthony about preparing incarcerated youth for life on the outside.

The Marshall Project Inside serves one of America’s biggest news deserts: prisons and jails. Our work depends on donations from readers like you. Please support more of this critical journalism.

Credits

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / HOST Lawrence Bartley

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / CO-CREATOR Donald Washington, Jr.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS James Goldston, Devin Greenleaf, Maral Usefi

PRESIDENT, THE MARSHALL PROJECT Carroll Bogert

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE MARSHALL PROJECT Susan Chira

CORRESPONDENTS Cary Aspinwall, Krishna Andavolu, Roberto Ferdman, Alexis Johnson, Alzo Slade, Dexter Thomas, Gianna Toboni

REPORTERS Cary Aspinwall, Keri Blakinger, Hope Corrigan, Alysia Santo, Beth Schwartzapfel, Christie Thompson

SUPERVISING PRODUCERS Ruth Baldwin, Raghuram Vadarevu

SENIOR PRODUCERS Josh Hersh, Lena Jakobsson, Samantha Wender

MANAGING EDITOR, THE MARSHALL PROJECT Geraldine Sealey

MANAGING EDITOR, LOCAL, THE MARSHALL PROJECT Marlon A. Walker

SENIOR EDITORS, THE MARSHALL PROJECT Raghuram Vadarevu, Leslie Eaton, Akiba Solomon, Manuel Torres, Andrew Cohen, Tom Meagher

DATA EDITOR, THE MARSHALL PROJECT David Eads

PRODUCER/SHOOTERS Dave Mayers, Alex Pena, Gilad Thaler

PRODUCERS Belle Cushing, Dina Elshinnawi, Nick Fraccaro, Oliver Gruber, Julia Lindau, Greg Overzat, Simone Perez, Nour El Hoda Seleem, Sarah Svoboda, Ani Ucar, Rochelle Widdowson

SHOW WRITERS James Hamilton, David Notis, Trey Strange

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS Gaby Caplan, Scott Mulligan

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Emilie Dorn

SENIOR SOCIAL PRODUCER Alyza Enriquez

“THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX” Kenya Edmonds, Kenyatta Emmanuel Hughes, Jason Calkins

SERIES EDITOR Alejandro Soto Goico

BROADCAST EDITORS James Arijeloye, Jeb Banegas, Rob Cosentino, Patrick Mannion, Andrew Marulanda, Dan Nelson, Haley Renee Trunkett, Rachel Win

ASSISTANT EDITORS Corey Jung, Mike McCabe

SENIOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ana Simões

GRAPHICS & DESIGN DIRECTOR Kaz Ishii

GRAPHICS COORDINATOR Susie Kim

SENIOR ANIMATOR Grace Shin

MOTION DESIGNERS Kris Cave, Zach Christy, Indraniel Roye, Sean Wehrli

GRAPHICS DESIGNERS Sungpyo Hong, Raquel Rei

GRAPHICS ARTIST Kate Wardell

ANIMATORS Xaver Böhm, Paige Money, Lily Padula, Grace Shin

INSIDE STORY OPEN Big Star Motion Design

ORIGINAL THEME BY Kenyatta Emmanuel Hughes, Patrick Griffin, Isaias Umali III

IN THE NEWS NARRATOR Dina Elshinnawi

SOUND DESIGNER Brian Ratigan

VP, DEVELOPMENT Brendan Kennedy

DIRECTOR, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Jon Eiseman

VP, PRODUCTION Chris Gargani

DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION Susan Kennedy

DIRECTOR OF NEWS DEPLOYMENTS Nicole Huber

PRODUCTION MANAGERS Nirmala Bhagwandin, Julie Suronen

SENIOR PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Sophie Black

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Samantha Rodgriguez

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY Scott De Angioletti, Cassandra Giraldo, David Givens, Blake Kimmel, Erik Ljung, Andrew Nice, Chris Orr, Dan Peters, Greg Purpura, Jeff Ricker, Alex Rosen, Rylan Scherer, Mack Woodruff

CAMERA OPERATORS Gene Bradley, Dan Cain, Alex Clark, Rob Davis, Dave Randag, Emily Thomas, Sean Gearing

SOUND OPERATOR Camilla Gomide, Sheldon Yellowhair

SVP, GLOBAL POST PRODUCTION, VICE Mike Morrison

SENIOR DIR, POST PRODUCTION, NEWS & STUDIOS, VICE Arthur Randell

POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISORS Kevin Keane, Ellie Waxman

DIRECTOR, POST PRODUCTION OPERATIONS & TECH, VICE Mark Leombruni

COLORISTS Chris Beardslee, George Dutton, Edwin Rodriguez

RE-RECORDING MIXERS/SOUND DESIGNERS/COMPOSERS Brian Arnold, William Flynn, Mark Leombruni, John Northcraft, Ben Sims

ARCHIVAL PRODUCERS Svetlana Didorenko, Melissa Saucedo

MUSIC SUPERVISORS Emily DeGirolamo, Jackie Palazzolo, Bonnie Reilly, Chase Stafford

DATA OPERATIONS COORDINATOR Jon Stern

DATA OPERATORS Sarah Marie Ampil, Kamilla Kulieva, Ashley Vega

VP, BROADCAST AND ENGINEERING OPERATIONS Joe Lamonica

SENIOR DIRECTOR, BROADCAST ENGINEERING Matt Kaitila

SENIOR TECHNICAL MANAGER Nathan Grant

SENIOR BROADCAST ENGINEER Andi Metolli

BROADCAST ENGINEER Mike Garofalo

AUDIO ENGINEER Duke Rashkow

MEDIA OPERATIONS COORDINATORS Thomas Allen, Nick Chirumbolo, Jerry Janvier, Jermaine Richmond, Takumi Spitzer

EQUIPMENT MANAGER Chris Norris

EQUIPMENT OPERATIONS SPECIALISTS Thomas Trudeau, Cristal Jefferson, Edoardo Marino

EQUIPMENT OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATOR Darryl Rahn

FOR VICE NEWS

President, Global News & Entertainment Jesse Angelo

CFO, News & Entertainment Adam Kamen

EVP, News / Global Head of Programming Subrata De

VP, Editorial Operations Maral Usefi

SVP, Business & Legal Affairs Joe Weissman

VP, Production Chris Gargani

Director, Accounting Scott Gannon

Director, Global Archival Lia Jusino

Counsel Elvira Vergara

FOR THE MARSHALL PROJECT

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Dacrie Brooks

SOCIAL PRODUCER Mary Conlon

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Mara Corbett

AUDIENCE DIRECTOR Ashley Dye

SENIOR MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Celina Fang

COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE Nicole Funaro

NEWS INSIDE MANAGER Martin Garcia

FACT CHECKER Savannah Hugueley

COPY CHIEF Ghazala Irshad

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY Gabe Isman

DESIGNER Bo-Won Keum

NEWSLETTER MANAGER Rachel Kincaid

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER Ebony Reed

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Marci Suela

PARTNERSHIP MANAGER Terri Troncale

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT Elan Kiderman Ullendorff

COUNSEL Edward Klaris and Louise Carron, Klaris Law
Jennifer Borg, Pashman Stein

ADDITIONAL REPORTING Brianna Bailey, The Frontier
R.G. Dunlop, KCIR
Erin Einhorn, NBC News,
Joseph Shapiro, NPR
Amy Yurkanin, AL.com
Annie Waldman, ProPublica

Special thanks to The Marshall Project’s reporting and publishing partners

AL.com, The Frontier, Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, National Public Radio, NBC News, ProPublica, The Dallas Morning News, Lexington Herald-Leader, Mother Jones, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, The Washington Post

Support for The Marshall Project and Inside Story is provided by the Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation and The Just Trust.