Search About Newsletters Donate

Prison Life

Jeff Östberg for The Marshall Project
Inside Story
What if Prison Was Not Designed to Punish?
In Germany, incarcerated people wear their own clothes, live in apartment-style cells and get family day passes — all to preserve human dignity.
By and
An illustration with a purple background shows a woman rubbing her neck because of aches and pains. To her right is a setting sun in orange that blends into her right arm.
News July 22
Guide: How to Navigate Perimenopause and Menopause in Prison
Experiencing perimenopause and menopause in prison can be difficult. Here is some practical advice from medical experts and from incarcerated women who have done it.
By Kwaneta Harris and
Redemption Songs July 19
‘Music From the Big House’ Frees Blues, Soul and Gospel from the Walls of Angola Prison
Standouts include a version of Lead Belly’s hit “Midnight Special” led by filmmaker Rita Chiarelli and an incarcerated band.
By
Sending Kites July 14
The Prison Rules You Won’t Find in Any Handbook
There are unofficial rules in every prison and jail. Here’s what you need to know before you go in.
By and
An illustration with a pale yellow background shows, at center, a man in an orange prison uniform pulling on a string that is connected to a postage stamp, which is then connected to the bottom of a prison cell door, and then connected to a letter on the floor, which is connected to another prison cell door. From left to right, there is a calendar with most of the days of the month crossed off; a document envelope and some documents behind it; a prison official shredding a document; and an incarcerated person with his hands shackled to a slab while a correctional officer holds his left hand down. Scattered around the illustration are gray and blue blocks, and over the entire illustration, there is a grid made up of thin light blue lines.
Feature July 13
In Federal Prisons, Some Guards Use Fear and Violence to Stifle Complaints
Prisoners in federal facilities must file most grievances with the guards — a system they say exposes them to retaliation, including physical abuse.
By and Joseph Shapiro
Redemption Songs July 5
A Timely Remix of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ Out of a New York Prison
The Capitol riots angered Sing Sing’s Alfred Roberts. He responded with his version of what is widely known as the Black national anthem.
By
An illustration shows three silhouettes of the same woman sitting on the ground, in a gradient from blue to pink, the colors of the transgender flag. From left, she has her head lowered and her face in her hands; she is sitting up; and she is reaching out to three hands with different skin tones reaching out to her from the top right corner of the illustration.
Life Inside June 26
Healing From My Prison Rape Requires Time, Therapy and Friends Who Don’t Blame the Victim
Lexie Handlang was sexually assaulted soon after she arrived in a Missouri prison. Here, she charts her ongoing road to recovery.
By Lexie Handlang
Redemption Songs June 21
Ear Hustle’s Antwan Banks Williams Goes Deep on ‘Like Father, Like Son’
Two years after the podcast’s co-creator’s dad died, he used hip-hop to celebrate their bond.
By
Sending Kites June 16
How to Parent From Prison
Incarcerated people from around the country share their advice.
By and
Redemption Songs June 14
‘Forty-Four Hammers’ Is Part of a Rich History of Prison Work Songs
The call-and-response song was one of many that Black men sang as they toiled on Southern prison farms.
By
About
People
Privacy
Sitemap
Funders