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News October 21, 2020
Prisoners Won The Right To Stimulus Checks. Some Prisons Are Standing In The Way.
A federal judge ruled prisoners can get the $1,200 checks many Americans received in the spring. Some prison systems are putting up roadblocks, lawyers and prisoners say.
By and
Jennifer Gross holds photos of herself with fiancé Robert Vermett, who is incarcerated at Michigan’s Kinross Correctional Facility and recovering from COVID-19.
Coronavirus December 21, 2020
Moving People—and Coronavirus—From Prison to Prison
As COVID-19 infections soar, prisoners and corrections officers worry that transferring people between facilities is causing outbreaks.
By and Ed White
A woman signs “I love you” in American sign language toward a deaf person in prison. Between them is a stream of “DOC”-branded paperwork, letters and money that signify how deaf people in prison without access to video calls and video relay services also lose access to information and communication with loved ones.
News March 21, 2023
‘Prison Within a Prison’: New Mandate Offers Lifeline for Deaf People in Custody
The new rule, which goes in effect in January 2024, applies to phone companies serving prisons, jails and detention facilities nationwide.
By
Sean McQuiddy contracted COVID-19 while at a federal prison in Forrest City, Arkansas.
News June 11, 2021
31,000 Prisoners Sought Compassionate Release During COVID-19. The Bureau of Prisons Approved 36.
As the pandemic worsened inside federal prisons, officials granted fewer releases.
By AND
A White man can be seen through the back of a wooden dining-table chair.
Inside Story October 10, 2024
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.
By and
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 , and
Inside Out September 2, 2021
Some prison labor programs lose money — even when prisoners work for pennies
Officials claim programs provide skills, but critics say there’s little evidence.
By
Life Inside January 29, 2016
What It’s Like to Be Moved From Cell to Cell, Prison to Prison
An endless shuffle takes a toll.
By
Prisoners stand in line at Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Ala., in 2015. Thousands of Alabama prisoners began a work strike this week to protest poor prison conditions.
Closing Argument October 1, 2022
What an Alabama Prisoners’ Strike Tells Us About Prison Labor
Exploitation of incarcerated people isn’t limited to lockups. Voters in some states have a chance to curtail it.
By
Looking Back July 14, 2015
United States Prison vs. South African Prison
The penal colony where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated was “a paradise by comparison.”
By
News October 23, 2016
If Prisoners Ran Prisons
Five Texas inmates say what they’d do differently.
By
Life Inside May 25, 2017
Prison Is Killing My Prison Romance
A reflection on “the improbability of us.”
By
Life Inside January 18, 2018
My First Job Out of Prison Was Back in Prison
“It felt like all eyes were on me.”
By David Van Horn as told to
In an episode of “The Simpsons,” a Frank Gehry-inspired concert house proves unpopular when the residents of Springfield discover they hate classical music. Mr. Burns buys the hall, and repurposes it as a prison.
News December 21, 2017
Reimagining Prison with Frank Gehry
Prison as college campus. Prison as wellness center. Prison as monastery.
By
Coronavirus April 24, 2020
Tracking the Spread of Coronavirus in Prisons
A new Marshall Project effort has collected data on the prevalence of COVID-19 among prisoners and prison staff. Here’s what we know after one month of reporting.
By , and
Detainees make phone calls at a federal immigration detention center in California that is run by the private GEO Group.
The Lowdown September 12, 2019
Here's Why Abolishing Private Prisons Isn't a Silver Bullet
The vast majority of prisoners are held in publicly run prisons. But the private sector affects their incarceration in different ways.
By
The Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, where Jeffrey Epstein was held before he was found dead of an apparent suicide.
News August 14, 2019
Epstein’s Death Highlights A Staffing Crisis in Federal Prisons
A hiring freeze by the Trump administration shrank the federal prison workforce at twice the rate of the declining prison population.
By and
The Florence Federal Correctional Complex in southern Colorado, in 2015.
Commentary October 17, 2017
Federal Prisons Don’t Even Try to Rehabilitate the Undocumented
The Bureau of Prisons fails to provide basic resources to undocumented prisoners.
Jacob Schuman
The Great Plains Correctional Institution, run by the Geo Group in Hinton, Okla., has 27 prisoners with confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Coronavirus May 8, 2020
Why Did It Take the Feds Weeks to Report COVID-19 Cases In Privately Run Prisons?
The Bureau of Prisons reports 110 confirmed cases among 17,000 prisoners—and that may be an undercount.
By
A collage shows a black-and-white image of Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, Colo.; a clipping of a letter to the president from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel; a black-and-white head shot of a White man wearing a blazer and tie; a ripped page detailing work experience; and a black-and-white image of U.S. Penitentiary, Thomson, Ill.
News October 16, 2024
Warden Who Ran Federal Prisons With Abusive Practices Now Directs National Training Center
A Bureau of Prisons investigation found that Andrew Ciolli failed to stop violations of the use of force policy at one prison. Now he’s running an agency training center.
By , , The Marshall Project, and Joseph Shapiro, NPR
An illustration shows a black school bus driving through a light blue lake with bare trees and bushes. Five smaller panels at the edge of the illustration suggest an incarcerated person is traveling, showing a nasal swab test, a bag, shackles, an eye and handcuffs.
Life Inside May 13, 2022
I Got the Prison Transfer I Fought For. My Feelings Were Surprisingly Mixed
Demetrius Buckley’s long-awaited transfer to a lower-security prison means more time outside of his cell and a chance to see his daughter. But the transport process was like everything else in prison: slow, confusing and casually cruel.
By
Newly arrived prisoners wait to be processed at the state prison in Jackson, Georgia, in 2011.
News December 3, 2019
The Growing Racial Disparity in Prison Time
A new study finds black people are staying longer in state prisons, even as they face fewer arrests and prison admissions overall.
By
Michelle-Lael Norsworthy after being granted parole at Mule Creek State Prison in May 21, 2015 in Ione, Ca.
News October 8, 2015
Were These Transgender Prisoners Paroled — Or Just Kicked Out?
Three prisons were ordered to provide transgender health care. Three prisoners were suddenly set free.
By
Sonia Rodriguez and her fiancé Johnny Joe “JJ” Desilva Jr, the federal prison in Elkton, Ohio, and a letter sent from another prisoner describing conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Coronavirus June 18, 2020
“I Begged Them To Let Me Die”: How Federal Prisons Became Coronavirus Death Traps.
The Bureau of Prisons was unprepared and slow to respond. Then officials took steps that helped spread the virus.
By and Keegan Hamilton
Feature September 26, 2024
The Future of Prisons?
Inspired by Germany, South Carolina let prisoners design their own units, write house rules and settle their own disputes. Then came politics.
By
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