Menu icon
The Marshall Project
Nonprofit journalism about criminal justice
Search
About
Newsletters
Donate
A nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system
Search
Magnifying glass
Local Network
Cleveland
Jackson
Projects
Inside Story
News Inside
Life Inside
Mauled
The Language Project
The Record
The System
Topics
Death Penalty
Immigration
Juvenile Justice
Mental Health
Policing
Politics and Reform
Race
About
About Us
Local Network
The Marshall Project Inside
News & Awards
Impact
People
Supporters
Jobs
Newsletters
Events
Donate
Feedback?
Arrow
support@themarshallproject.org
Dangerous Conditions in Prisons/Jails
Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
Life Inside
I Had a Tough Job at My Brooklyn Jail: Keeping Men From Taking Their Own Lives
As a suicide prevention aide, I had to make sure my fellow detainees didn’t harm themselves. It was surprisingly easy to get such a complex job.
Closing Argument
March 2
How Federal Prisons Are Getting Worse
Government watchdog agencies found hundreds of preventable deaths and excessive use of solitary confinement.
By
Jamiles Lartey
and
Christie Thompson
Feature
October 24, 2023
In Harm’s Way
How decades-old decisions to build two California prisons in a dry lakebed and a chaotic climate left 8,000 incarcerated people at risk.
By
Susie Cagle
Life Inside
October 20, 2023
Here’s How I Use My Story to Teach Incarcerated Kids That Writing Matters
At 18, Bobby Bostic was sentenced to 241 years in prison. Now out on parole, he’s sharing the healing power of writing in juvenile detention centers.
By
Bobby Bostic
Closing Argument
July 22
‘Concrete Coffins’: Surviving Extreme Heat Behind Bars
Record temperatures in much of the U.S. threatening more people in prisons.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Closing Argument
February 25
Fighting the High Cost of Prison Phone Calls
Tired of exorbitant phone bills, prisoners and their families are pushing to lower costs.
By
Christie Thompson
Closing Argument
February 18
How ‘Cruel and Not Unusual’ Conditions Persist in Many Lockups
Insight from a discussion with journalists, formerly incarcerated people and experts.
By
Jamiles Lartey
Analysis
December 22, 2022
Some of Our Best Work of 2022
From coverage of prison violence and abuses in a juvenile lockup to investigations by our new Cleveland team, our reporters told stories that made a difference.
By
Terri Troncale
News
November 4, 2022
Why So Many Jails Are in a ‘State of Complete Meltdown’
Overcrowding, violence and abuse proliferate at jails across the country, as staffing problems make long-simmering problems worse.
By
Keri Blakinger
News
June 14, 2022
Lawmakers Call for Probe Into Deadly Federal Prison
Following a Marshall Project/NPR report detailing violence and abuse at the newest federal penitentiary, three members of Congress asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate.
By
Christie Thompson
, The Marshall Project and
Joseph Shapiro
, NPR