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Keri Blakinger

Former Staff Writer

I am a former Marshall Project staff writer who now covers criminal justice, prisons and the death penalty at ProPublica.

My Background

In 2024, my Marshall Project story about the Dungeons & Dragons players of Texas death row was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing. I was also a producer on “I Am Ready, Warden,” a short documentary that was nominated for a 2025 Academy Award. I’ve also worked for the LA Times and the Houston Chronicle, and my reporting has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, VICE and The New York Times. I was The Marshall Project’s first formerly incarcerated reporter. My memoir, "Corrections in Ink", came out in 2022.

A Black woman in a blouse with ruffled sleeves stands with her back to the camera facing a gravestone that has a vase of flowers set upon it.
Feature August 6, 2025
Who Answers for a Death in Custody?
A Houston mother is one of many nationwide left with grief and unanswered questions when a loved one dies behind bars.
By , and
Marshall, a man with light-toned skin, wears a blue suit jacket and glasses as he stands behind a podium. On person stands behind him and three are sitting.
News April 12, 2025
Who Is Billy Marshall? What to Know About Trump’s New Bureau of Prisons Director
West Virginia’s top corrections official led a troubled state agency, and will now head a federal bureaucracy plagued with problems of its own.
By , and
Three firefighters carrying power tools walk through a forest.
Closing Argument January 11, 2025
Incarcerated Firefighters Do Risky, Low-Pay Work. Many Say It’s The Best Job Behind Bars.
More than 900 prison firefighters were responding to the crisis in Los Angeles — but their pay is low and the ethics of their choice are complicated.
By and , The Marshall Project, and , The Los Angeles Times
A collage shows two black-and-white images. The photo on the left shows three men sleeping on the floor of a jail. The film scan on the right depicts several incarcerated men sleeping or watching TV in Central Jail’s chapel.
News December 12, 2024
‘Sleep Don’t Come’: The Dangerous Problem of Sleep Deprivation Behind Bars
Moldy mattresses, 24/7 lights and constant noise contribute to a persistent health and safety crisis in prisons and jails.
By and
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Death Sentences June 27, 2024
This Doctor Helped Send Ramiro Gonzales to Death Row. Now He’s Changed His Mind.
Texas plans to execute Gonzales this week even though the expert witness says he isn’t a ‘threat to society.’
By and
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Life Inside June 24, 2024
A Death Row Prisoner’s Parting Interview
Days before his scheduled execution in Texas, Ramiro Gonzales speaks on faith, legacy — and apologizing to the family of his victim, Bridget Townsend.
By
Brian Dorsey, a White man with glasses wearing a white shirt, at the Potosi Correctional Center.
Death Sentences April 3, 2024
He Faces Execution. His Lawyers May Have Earned Less Than $4 per Hour.
Some death penalty lawyers get paid the same no matter how long they work on a case. Critics say it’s a perverse incentive when a life is at stake.
By and
A Dungeons and Dragons book titled “Dungeon Master’s Guide” sits atop a pile of scattered maps and drawings. Many of the hand-drawn maps are sketched on graph paper. Some pages contain details in color, and others are drawn in black-and-white.
Feature August 31, 2023
When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row
For men awaiting execution in Texas, illicit games of Dungeons & Dragons became a lifeline.
By
Analysis March 16, 2023
5 Things We Learned About Prison Book Ban Policies
We added policies to our searchable database of banned books. Here’s what we’ve found (so far).
The Marshall Project
A grid of 9 book covers set on top of a blue background with sharp shadows: Hand Lettering & Calligraphy, Soledad Brother, Mein Kampf, 50 Shades of Grey, 48 Laws of Power, Prison Ramen, The Color Prple, Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Forgotten Realms On top, there are a few blocks of handwriting pointing to some of the books that read: "Threat to the order and security of the institution," "sexually explicit," "methods of poison"
Graphics February 23, 2023
The Books Banned in Your State’s Prisons
We asked all state systems for book policies and ban lists, then created a database for you.
By The Marshall Project
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