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Jerry Metcalf is incarcerated in Michigan. In addition to his published work, he volunteers as an aid to the mentally ill and trains service dogs for Paws with a Cause. He loves to read, write, and daydream.
A prisoner in his cell in Illinois, in 2010.
Life Inside March 25, 2020
No, Your Coronavirus Quarantine Is Not Just Like Being in Prison
“I'd give anything to trade places with you right now.”
By Jerry Metcalf
Life Inside May 9, 2019
Why Mothers Are the Unsung Heroes of Prison
“I’ve seen disasters averted because an inmate said these simple words: 'What would your mother think?'”
By Jerry Metcalf
Life Inside March 21, 2019
I Wish I’d Pleaded Guilty to Murder
Exercising my right to a jury trial cost me years of my life.
By Jerry Metcalf
Life Inside September 20, 2018
When Prisoners Say #MeToo
“Amazing, isn’t it, that a movement can ripple so widely?”
By Jerry Metcalf
Life Inside July 12, 2018
A Day in the Life of a Prisoner
“We aren’t deadbeats — our days are, in fact, incredibly full.”
By Jerry Metcalf
Students at Roosevelt High School take part in a protest in Seattle against gun violence, following the Parkland, Fla., school shooting that killed more than a dozen teenagers.
Commentary April 2, 2018
I Was Too Young to Own a Gun
“I take full responsibility for my actions. I killed a man. Still, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if we’d met just a few years later...if I didn’t have a gun.”
Jerry Metcalf
Life Inside March 1, 2018
The Everyday Chaos of Incarceration
“Nothing about life inside prison is normal.”
By Jerry Metcalf
Life Inside June 22, 2017
Does It Have Buttons? Is it Touchscreen?
Or, how I learned to use a computer in prison.
By Jerry Metcalf
Life Inside April 13, 2017
After 20 Years in Prison, All I Can Write Is Fantasy
An inmate, his typewriter and dreams of the Internet.
By Jerry Metcalf
Prisoners train dogs at Bay Correctional Facility in Panama City, Fla.
Life Inside September 1, 2016
How Having a Dog Changed My Life in Prison
“Until now, touching another living thing took place in the context of fights, pat-downs, and strip searches.”
By Jerry Metcalf
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