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Prison Life

Jeff Östberg for The Marshall Project
Life Inside
The Mourning After
From concealing causes of death to delaying memorials, prisons treat people passing away like business as usual.
by Phillip Luna
A collage shows photographs of a stack of white papers; a White man in a blue prison uniform hugging his mother; a necklace with an orange guitar pick; and two men playing their guitars. Other digital images in the collage include clouds, a chain-link fence, and cardboard texture.
Redemption Songs September 6
He Wrote a Song Called ‘Freedom.’ Now He’s Free.
After playing bass in a Philadelphia-area prison music program, Bernard Lee, 73, earned parole.
By
Redemption Songs August 30
The Parchman Band Started in the 1930s. A Modern Version Is Carrying on Tradition.
The band at the notoriously violent Mississippi State Penitentiary is back together and even playing gigs on the outside.
By and
A photo shows a White man on the left, dressed in a navy blue T-shirt and green-and-white striped pants, playing a guitar; and a Black man in a white T-shirt and green-and-white striped pants, playing a guitar. They are standing in a rehearsal room with an amplifier, an instrument case, and a stool, among other musical equipment.
Jackson August 28
Mississippi Prison Band Offers a Glimpse of Freedom in a Lifetime of Punishment
The latest incarnation of the band composed of incarcerated people at Parchman prison toured the state and will release an album next year.
By
An illustration shows, clockwise: a hand with medium skin tone and a hand with light skin tone, each holding wedding photos; a Crocs clog with cloth around an improvised heel; a light-skinned woman wearing a floral-print dress while holding someone’s hands; cutouts of people in suits and dresses; and toilet paper, sunflower seeds and rings floating in the background.
Life Inside August 28
At a Texas Prison Where Intimacy Is Banned, Wedding Bells Are Ringing Anyway
Kwaneta Harris takes us inside surprising rituals where couples get hitched, and guests shed tears for the weddings on the outside that they’ve missed.
By Kwaneta Harris
Inside Story August 25
The Youth ‘Treatment’ Centers Kids Risk Their Lives to Escape
Thousands of kids enter residential facilities promised care. Instead, many face systemic abuse, and some risk everything to break free.
By and
Redemption Songs August 23
Two 17-Year-Olds in Custody Wrote a Love Song in an Arts Program. One Didn’t Survive.
The Radical Reversal program opens recording studios in youth correctional facilities. The work doesn’t come without heartbreak.
By
A magazine called News Inside set against a grainy gray backdrop. Light refracted through prison bars shines onto the magazine.
News Inside August 19
Bodies of Evidence
Lyrics, medical records and menopause — News Inside Issue 23 looks at what gets used against us, and what gets ignored.
By
Sending Kites August 18
How to Prepare for a Prison Visit
Incarcerated readers share how they get ready for visits, and what they want their loved ones to know before walking through the doors.
By and
Redemption Songs August 16
In the Early ’90s, the Lifers Group Tried to Warn Kids About the Perils of Prison
The incarcerated hip-hop group that emerged from the controversial ‘Scared Straight’ program set out to deglamorize the gangster rap of the moment.
By
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