Search About Newsletters Donate
Prisoners stand in line at Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Ala., in 2015. Thousands of Alabama prisoners began a work strike this week to protest poor prison conditions.
Closing Argument October 1
What an Alabama Prisoners’ Strike Tells Us About Prison Labor
Exploitation of incarcerated people isn’t limited to lockups. Voters in some states have a chance to curtail it.
By Jamiles Lartey
Life Inside August 4
Prison Money Diaries: What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars
We asked people in prison to track their earning and spending — and bartering and side hustles — for 30 days. Their accounts reveal a thriving underground economy behind bars.
By Beth Schwartzapfel
Inside Out September 2, 2021
Some prison labor programs lose money — even when prisoners work for pennies
Officials claim programs provide skills, but critics say there’s little evidence.
By Keri Blakinger
The CZU Lightning Complex fire, as seen from La Honda, California, on August 19, 2020.
News September 2, 2020
The Former Prisoners Fighting California’s Wildfires
“When people are in need, they don’t give a shit where you’re from or what your history is.”
By Christie Thompson
Letters written by Timothy Bazrowx while he was at the Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas.
Coronavirus May 2, 2020
“We All Have An Expiration Date”: The Death of a Prison Writer
Among the many incarcerated people who have died from COVID-19 was Marshall Project contributor Timothy Bazrowx, one of Texas' best chroniclers of prison life.
By Maurice Chammah
Life Inside August 8, 2019
I Had a Shitty Job in Prison
“Down in a wastewater-treatment pit, I kept furiously shoving the black liquid toward the pump, with a squeegee.”
By Adrian Drepaul
Presidential hopefuls squared off at the second night of Democratic primary debates in Detroit in July, debating some criminal justice issues but overlooking many others.
The Lowdown August 1, 2019
Beyond One-Liners: A Guide to the Democratic Debate on Criminal Justice
By The Marshall Project
Life Inside July 18, 2019
My Dad Taught Me How to Build Things. Now I’m Doing It in Prison.
“What neither of us knew was that coming to prison would create new worlds for me to build.”
By Jesse Luke Crosson
Life Inside June 27, 2019
We Thought Our Prison Strike Was a Success. Then Came the Officers in Riot Gear
“Panic ensued as everyone braced for the inevitable attack.”
By Mangaaka Ade
Spencer Cliche in the auditorium of Massachusetts' Amherst Regional High School, where seats were reupholstered using prison labor.
News June 24, 2019
First Big Scoop: Student Journalists Expose High School’s Use of Prison Labor
“Whatever would come of this, they wouldn’t expel me or anything,” said a 17-year-old reporter. “I’m just presenting the facts.”
By Eli Hager
About
People
Jobs
Sitemap
Funders