Feature April 9

Spying on Attica

How nearly 2,000 cameras tamed America’s most notorious prison

By John J. Lennon

Life Inside February 8

My Sexual Harassers Were Behind Bars. I Was Their Guard.

“I’ve seen more men masturbate than I can count.”

By Talisa J. Carter

News November 9, 2017

The Unique Sexual Harassment Problem Female Prison Workers Face

When women report abuse from the men in their custody.

By Alysia Santo

Life Inside October 5, 2017

Working in the Prison System Took Over My Life

The 24/7 nature of corrections work can make it all-consuming.

By Brent Parker as told to Maurice Chammah

Life Inside July 20, 2017

The Accident That Changed My Life in Prison

An inmate remembers his bond with a prison employee who was more than just “one of them.”

By Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.

Case in Point July 17, 2017

Who Pays for Jail Rape?

Under “qualified immunity,” often no one.

By Andrew Cohen

News June 14, 2017

For Corrections Officers and Cops, a New Emphasis on Mental Health

An intensive study and new programs to combat stress that often goes overlooked.

By Simone Weichselbaum

Life Inside March 30, 2017

‘I Can Help This Person’

A prison psychologist mourns a patient he tried to save.

By Ryan Quirk as told to Maurice Chammah

Life Inside February 2, 2017

Working With Prisoners Makes It Hard To Be a Mom

Discipline at work, leniency at home—with doubts.

By Cary Johnson, as told to Maurice Chammah

Life Inside October 13, 2016

How My Time as a Private Prison Guard Changed the Way I See Inmates

“No one wants to be accused of being ‘inmate-friendly.’”

By M. Leann Skeen

Feature July 6, 2016

Inside the Deadly World of Private Prisoner Transport

Tens of thousands of people every year are packed into vans run by for-profit companies with almost no oversight.

By Eli Hager and Alysia Santo

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

Feature February 28, 2016

What Prison Guards Really Think About Their Jobs

Listening in on watercooler chatter online.

By Alysia Santo

Life Inside February 25, 2016

What It’s Like to Be Gay in Prison

When the people in charge are homophobic.

By Corbett J. Yost

Life Inside January 8, 2016

My Life in the Supermax

Finger handshakes, the toilet phone, and the “shoe bomber.”

By Eli Hager

Feature January 7, 2016

How to Get Out of Solitary — One Step at a Time

New programs are easing inmates out of years of solitary confinement with surprising outcomes for both prisoners and corrections officers.

By Maurice Chammah

News December 20, 2015

Spotting the ‘Red Flags’ of Abusive Prison Guards

Under pressure, New York says it will better track correctional officers

By Tom Robbins

Life Inside December 11, 2015

My Wife and Child Died on the Way Home From Visiting Me in Prison

On loss behind bars.

By Charles Davis

News December 11, 2015

How a Stranger Helped One Man Rebuild His Life After Prison

‘I never thought people would care.’

By Tom Robbins

News October 20, 2015

New York City Jail Guards Are Fighting to Keep Their Records Secret

Amid abuse charges, union acts to ‘protect our officers.’

By Alysia Santo

Commentary October 5, 2015

How to Deal with Prison Brutality

It’s time to take these cases away from local prosecutors.

By Eliot Spitzer

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

What You're Saying July 24, 2015

‘Children Do Not Have the Same Capacity as Adults to Control Their Reactions.’

A selection of recent letters from our readers.

By Jasmine Lee

News July 13, 2015

For the First Time, Vermont Will Search Prison Staffers

The drug use that plagues the state now haunts its cellblocks.

By Carl Stoffers

Justice Lab July 13, 2015

What Are Correction Officers So Afraid Of?

Besides the danger, being ignored.

By Dana Goldstein

Commentary June 26, 2015

Fact-Checking Season 3 of Orange Is the New Black

A former CO — and first-time OITNB-watcher — weighs in.

By Carl Stoffers

News June 22, 2015

The Stiff Competition to Work in German Prisons

How Germany does prison, day five.

By Maurice Chammah

News June 5, 2015

Job Opening: No Training, Low Pay, High Turnover

In Mississippi prisons last year, half the officers quit.

By Eli Hager

Feature June 3, 2015

Nigerians are Flocking to Work in Texas Prisons

An immigration trend changes the face of corrections.

By Maurice Chammah

Asked and Answered May 22, 2015

‘I Feel Unsafe Every Day.’

An Oklahoma corrections officer on the stress and danger of understaffing, and why each inmate should be given a joint twice a day.

By The Marshall Project

News May 17, 2015

Feds Open Attica Investigation

Justice Department to study brutality in troubled prison.

By Tom Robbins

Asked and Answered May 6, 2015

‘It Takes a Certain Kind of Magic to be able to Survive This Kind of Separation.’

A 32-year-old woman on what it’s like being engaged to someone serving a life sentence, long-distance romantic gestures, and the cost of each visit.

By The Marshall Project

News March 19, 2015

Attica Reads About Attica

A story of brutality clears the prison censors.

By Tom Robbins

News March 5, 2015

Attica’s Prosecutors Show Their Hand

And defend their decision to play it safe.

By Tom Robbins

News March 2, 2015

No Jail Time for Attica Guards

Brutal beating resolved with a misdemeanor plea.

By Tom Robbins and Lauren D'avolio

Feature February 28, 2015

Attica’s Ghosts

A savage beating, a culture “beyond repair.”

By Tom Robbins

Life Inside February 5, 2015

Call Me Mandi

The life of a transgender corrections officer.

By Richard Ross

News January 27, 2015

See No Evil

A new report details abuse of blind, deaf and disabled inmates in a Texas prison.

By Maurice Chammah

News January 14, 2015

NYC Declares an End to Solitary for Inmates Under 21

Now comes the hard part.

By Clare Sestanovich

Feature December 22, 2014

16-Hour Shifts, 300 Inmates to Watch, and 1 Lonely Son

The very sleep-deprived life of a corrections officer.

By Alysia Santo

Commentary December 17, 2014

Handling, Not Manhandling, the Mentally Ill

A close look at the L.A. County Jail settlement

By Andrew Cohen

News December 17, 2014

Peeping Toms

Do prison inmates have a right to privacy?

By Alysia Santo

The Rules December 3, 2014

Why are Some Inmates in South Carolina Wearing Pink Jumpsuits?

Punishing the act of self-pleasure.

By Clare Sestanovich