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Contraband

A line illustration shows a Black man in the center holding a contraband phone in prison. His phone is linked by a drawn line to the phone of a Black woman outside prison. Another woman besides her looks on. On the right, a man holds a pencil while studying a book and also using a contraband phone.
Feature January 19
The Many Ingenious Ways People in Prison Use (Forbidden) Cell Phones
Despite the security concerns of administrators, incarcerated people use phones to hustle, make TikToks or publicize prison conditions.
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Three out of five prisoners who were stabbed or beaten to death last week in Mississippi prisons were at the State Penitentiary in Parchman.
News January 8, 2020
Mississippi Prison Killings: Five Factors Behind the Deadly Violence
Understaffing, powerful gangs and constant lockdowns brew tensions that exploded last week.
By and
Kevin Johns comforts Kathy Bowling at their son Jared Johns’ grave at Cannon Memorial Park in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.
Justice Lab November 11, 2019
How Did They Run an Elaborate “Sextortion” Scam From Prison? Cellphones.
Victim’s family pushes for a high-tech crackdown—but it may not work.
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Life Inside June 28, 2018
This Prison Won't Let Me Read “Game of Thrones”
Navigating the sometimes weird, arcane rules about inmate contraband.
By Kimberly Hricko
In this May 9, 2012 photo, a CERT team from the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Department moves in to arrest volunteers portraying inmates during a training scenario at the 16th annual Mock Prison Riot at the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, W.Va. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Trent Nelson) DESERET NEWS OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; MAGS OUT
Life Inside March 25, 2016
How I Survived ‘Ninja Shakedown’ Cell Searches
Fear and anxiety during a three-day lockdown.
By Wayne Snitzky
A recovering heroin addict shows his prescription of Suboxone, a maintenance treatment for opioid dependence, in Burlington, Vt. in 2014.
News July 13, 2015
For the First Time, Vermont Will Search Prison Staffers
The drug use that plagues the state now haunts its cellblocks.
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An inmate at Monroe Corrections Complex in Washington rolls a cigarette in May 2004.
News July 1, 2015
The Case for Smoking in Prison
When cigarettes are outlawed, only outlaws have cigarettes.
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News June 5, 2015
Job Opening: No Training, Low Pay, High Turnover
In Mississippi prisons last year, half the officers quit.
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A Jolly Rancher can be melted down, mixed with body lotion, and used as hair gel.
The Lowdown November 19, 2014
Fakeup
How women in prison remake makeup.
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