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Life Inside
April 14, 2020
“Covid Breached the Wall and Killed A Man Yesterday”
Trying to stay alive in Sing Sing.
By Dino Caroselli, as told to
John J. Lennon
The Language Project
April 12, 2021
I Was Trained to Call Prisoners a Word They Hated
As correctional officers, we are conditioned to call prisoners ‘inmates.’ But at Sing Sing, where I worked for 25 years, that was as bad as calling them a snitch.
By
Kevin Byrd
, as told to
Adria Watson
Life Inside
July 5, 2018
Learning Violin Helped Me Survive Prison
How one former inmate found healing—and himself—through music.
By
Jason Naradzay
Life Inside
November 13, 2019
What I Think About When I Think About Freedom
“It’s conflicting, I imagine, to hear how someone who once took a life thinks about living a good life.”
By
John J. Lennon
Feature
June 9, 2022
Rethinking Prison Tourism
Many former prison sites draw on the spooky and salacious to entertain visitors. But some are having second thoughts.
By
Hope Corrigan
Life Inside
December 12, 2019
I Did My 25 Years. Now I’m Fighting Another Sentence—Deportation
I barely remember my birthplace, Jamaica, and I have no family left there. Frankly, I’m terrified.
By
Colin Absolam
as told to
Akiba Solomon
News
January 30, 2020
Colin Absolam, an Immigrant Facing Deportation, Pardoned by Gov. Cuomo
His lawyer said he remained in custody in an ICE detention facility.
By
Marshall Project Staff
The Marshall Project Inside
March 11, 2021
The Making of “Superpredators”
The first edition of The Marshall Project’s new video series, designed for audiences inside and outside of prison, examines a toxic media myth that damaged a generation of Black youth.
By
Donald Washington, Jr.
and
Lawrence Bartley
Life Inside
November 3
Prison Is a Dangerous Place for LGBTQ+ People. I Made a Safe Space in the Library.
As a queer teen, Michael Shane Hale found belonging in books. Here’s how he built a place where everyone can read in peace in prison.
By
Michael Shane Hale
News Inside
March 17, 2021
You Blocked My Freedom and My Liberty, But Don’t Block My News
Getting News Inside into prisons and jails isn’t easy during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we remain committed to putting lifesaving information in your hands.
By
Lawrence Bartley
Feature
April 9, 2018
Spying on Attica
How nearly 2,000 cameras tamed America’s most notorious prison
By
John J. Lennon
The Frame
May 3, 2016
What It’s Like to Perform Shakespeare in Prison
An encounter with the Bard transforms a troupe of inmate actors.
By
Alysia Santo
Life Inside
May 2, 2019
What I Learned When I Googled My Students’ Crimes
“I wondered if I knew more of their history if I would still view them the same way.”
By
Kimberly Malone
Life Inside
October 10, 2019
Finding Peace—and Briefly, Freedom—at My Grandfather’s Funeral
“Saying goodbye with the people who loved him—and me—I remember that I am not the tomb that imprisons me.”
By
Robert K. Wright
Life Inside
April 26, 2018
How I’m Preparing for Parole After 27 Years in Prison
“With my new lease on life, I still remember the one I took.”
By
Lawrence Bartley
Life Inside
March 28, 2019
In Military Prison I Learned The True Meaning of Service
It took me more than 20 years to become a lieutenant colonel. Then I was sent to Leavenworth.
By
Ken Pinkela
as told to Joseph Darius Jaafari
Coronavirus
April 7, 2020
How 27 Years in Prison Prepared Me for Coronavirus
“If there’s one thing people who spent a long time in prison have acquired, it’s the ability to adapt.”
By
Lawrence Bartley
Looking Back
August 3
Redemption Songs: The Forgotten History of American Prison Music
From blues to gospel, country to rap, people have been making music behind bars for decades. Here’s why we should all tune in.
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
December 27, 2018
Some of Our Best Work in 2018
Finish the year strong with journalism that makes a difference.
By
Geraldine Sealey
Life Inside
October 29, 2020
Lax Masking, Short Quarantines, Ignored Symptoms: Inside a Prison Coronavirus Outbreak in ‘Disbeliever Country.’
The latest COVID-19 surge is happening behind bars, too. Here’s three accounts from an upstate New York prison hit by the pandemic.
By
Jermaine Archer
,
Cecil Myers
and
Eric Manners
as told to
Lisa Armstrong
News
June 7, 2019
The Underground Art of Prison Tattoos
Broken spoons, beard trimmer parts and other ingenious, sometimes dangerous, tools used by incarcerated body artists.
By
Joseph Darius Jaafari
Commentary
December 17, 2019
How to Fix Our Prisons? Let The Public Inside.
We need a broad national effort to recruit and place volunteers to educate and counsel incarcerated people.
By
Neil Barsky
Q&A
May 11, 2016
Tower of Power Star to Funkifize a California Prison
Rick Stevens on his three decades locked up and his return to performing.
By
Maurice Chammah
The Language Project
April 12, 2021
I Am Not Your ‘Inmate’
I didn’t always detest this term. But hearing officers use it as an insult reminded me to call incarcerated people — including myself — by our names.
By
Lawrence Bartley
Closing Argument
September 10, 2022
Why Record Heat Can Be Deadlier in Prisons
Corrections officials across most of the nation have not prepared for warmer summers and record heat waves.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Feature
September 3, 2018
A Turbulent Mind
Andrew Goldstein's crime set in motion a dramatic shift in how we care for the violent mentally ill. Including for himself—when he's released this month.
By
John J. Lennon
and
Bill Keller
Life Inside
June 6, 2019
Coulda Been a Contender
I had a shot at being the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Then I was convicted of murder.
By
Kassan Messiah
as told to
Eli Hager
Life Inside
May 31, 2018
Getting Out of Prison Meant Leaving Dear Friends Behind
“We leaned on each other. We found reasons to laugh while in agony.”
By
Robert K. Wright
Life Inside
December 7, 2017
When Your 18th Birthday Gift Is a Transfer to Adult Prison
A “baby-faced kid” comes of age while incarcerated.
By
Anonymous
Life Inside
May 14, 2020
I Survived Prison During The AIDS Epidemic. Here’s What It Taught Me About Coronavirus
COVID-19 isn’t an automatic death sentence, but the fear, vilification and isolation are the same.
By
Richard Rivera
Feature
September 8, 2015
‘I Reviewed Jail on Yelp Because I Couldn’t Afford a Therapist.’
Why people are using sites like Yelp to vent and offer tips about prison and jail.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
Life Inside
February 18, 2022
Inside the Underground Economy of Solitary Confinement
Goods are scarce in any correctional facility, but the circumstances are especially dire for those in isolation. Here’s how people in “the box” use their ingenuity, collaboration skills and a form of “fishing” to get what they need.
By
Matthew Azzano
Closing Argument
June 10
A Battle Over First Amendment Rights in Prisons
New York state tried to limit writings and artistic works from prisoners — illustrating a growing issue across the country.
By
Beth Schwartzapfel
and
Maurice Chammah
The Lowdown
March 26, 2015
Guerrilla Radio
How some inmates hack, rewire, and retool their radios to create walkie-talkies.
By
Maurice Chammah
The Frame
May 16, 2016
A Peek at the Golden Age of Prison Radio
A new book explores a time when Texas prisons promoted rehabilitation through a wildly successful radio show.
By
Maurice Chammah
Looking Back
May 21, 2015
When a Psychologist Was in Charge of Jail
Cook County Jail will soon be run by a mental health professional. And it’s not the first time.
By
Melanie Newport
Looking Back
March 16, 2015
Cecil Clayton, a Man Missing Part of His Brain, is About to Be Executed
And he is not the first.
By
Maurice Chammah
Feature
June 1, 2015
After Lethal Injection
Three states, three ways to kill a human being.
By
Maurice Chammah
,
Eli Hager
and
Andrew Cohen
Life Inside
March 22, 2018
Death Row’s First Ever Talent Show
Featuring an “impresario,” a gyrating orange juggler, and an audience-pleasing grand finale.
By
George T. Wilkerson
News
April 11, 2016
The State That is Taking on the Prison Guards Union
For decades, New York state’s corrections officers union has held the power in disciplinary decisions.
By
Michael Winerip
,
Michael Schwirtz
and
Tom Robbins
Life Inside
January 23, 2020
How I Finally Learned That Trauma Does Not Define Me
“It can be exhausting to tell and retell your painful story just to get people to listen to you about other things.”
By
Marlon Peterson
Life Inside
October 28, 2019
My GPS-Tracked Life on Parole
“Even in prison, I didn’t feel so overwhelmed with worry about doing something wrong when I’m doing everything right.”
By
James Baimbridge
as told to Beatrix Lockwood, The Marshall Project
Inside Out
June 10, 2021
Small Towns Used To See Prisons as a Boon. Now, Many Don’t Want Them.
In its search for a new prison’s home, Nebraska finds few places willing to host.
By
Keri Blakinger
Feature
March 22, 2019
Inside the Battle to Close Rikers
Can New York City build its way out of mass incarceration?
By
Maurice Chammah
Life Inside
June 2, 2015
A Night with the NYPD
In which the rookie learns what police really think.
By
Bob Henderson
Feature
September 27, 2015
Why It’s So Hard to Fire an Abusive Prison Guard
Corrections officials say he injured an inmate and lied about it. He’s still a state employee. He’s more the rule than the exception.
By
Tom Robbins
Feature
May 19, 2023
In New York Prisons, Guards Who Brutalize Prisoners Rarely Get Fired
Records obtained by The Marshall Project reveal a state discipline system that fails to hold many guards accountable.
By
Alysia Santo
,
Joseph Neff
and
Tom Meagher
Feature
April 23, 2021
How We Survived COVID-19 In Prison
At the start of the pandemic, we asked four incarcerated people to chronicle daily life with the coronavirus. Here, they reveal what they witnessed and how they coped with the chaos, fear, isolation and deaths.
By
Nicole Lewis
Feature
May 22, 2023
How a ‘Blue Wall’ Inside New York State Prisons Protects Abusive Guards
Records and interviews reveal a culture of cover-ups among corrections officers who falsify reports and send beating victims to solitary confinement.
By
Joseph Neff
,
Alysia Santo
and
Tom Meagher
Feature
February 7, 2020
They Went to Jail. Then They Say They Were Strapped to a Chair for Days.
Allegations in a Missouri lawsuit shed light on how some jail officials use restraint chairs, which have been linked to dozens of deaths.
By
Maurice Chammah
Commentary
February 5, 2018
Reentry: a Triptych
“What name for this thing we’ve become? For stigma, close as kin?”
By
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Feature
February 12, 2016
Kendrick Lamar, the Grammys and the Year in Socially Conscious Music
Black Lives Matter took center stage in 2015’s hip-hop and R&B.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
and
Pedro Burgos
Feature
July 16, 2018
Yelp for Cops
How am I doing? Check the sentiment meter.
By
Simone Weichselbaum
Feature
June 29, 2021
Lost Opportunity, Lost Lives
During the pandemic, prison officials could have prevented sickness and death by releasing those who were most vulnerable to coronavirus and least likely to reoffend — older incarcerated people.
By
Lisa Armstrong
Feature
February 28, 2015
Attica’s Ghosts
A savage beating, a culture “beyond repair.”
By
Tom Robbins
Feature
May 4, 2016
American Sheriff
David Clarke, the Trump-loving, pro-mass-incarceration Fox News favorite, is challenging criminal-justice reform—and stereotypes.
By
Maurice Chammah
Southside
October 30, 2018
Payback
Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and his crew tortured false confessions out of hundreds of black men. Decades later, the survivors fought for reparations.
By
Natalie Y. Moore
Feature
August 4, 2015
The New Science of Sentencing
Should prison sentences be based on crimes that haven’t been committed yet?
By
Anna Maria Barry-Jester
,
Ben Casselman
and
Dana Goldstein
Feature
November 27, 2018
Why Is Karl Taylor Dead?
Our prisons are our mental wards. One fatal case in New York shows where that can lead.
By
Tom Robbins
Just Say You’re Sorry
May 8
To Solve a Young Mother’s Death, a Celebrated Texas Ranger Turns to Hypnosis
In Episode 2 of “Just Say You’re Sorry,” we dig into Ranger James Holland’s past and follow the twists and turns that lead him to Larry Driskill.
By
Maurice Chammah