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Prison Life
Jeff Östberg for The Marshall Project
Life Inside
Boxer Shorts Blues: My Path to Gender-Affirming Underwear in Prison
Nonbinary writer K.C. Johnson soon learned that behind bars, even their underwear was subject to deliberations.
Life Inside
February 16
I Never Thought I Could Fall In Love With a Woman. Then Came Prison.
We call straight women who couple up with fellow prisoners “gay for the stay.” That slang masks the complexity — and often beauty — of these bonds.
By
Samantha Vantassell
Life Inside
February 9
My Biggest Daily Challenge in Prison Isn’t Violence. It’s the Monotony.
Boredom may seem like a small price to pay for committing a crime. But life on the inside isn’t so much a physical battle as it is a mental one.
By
Jy'Aire Smith-Pennick
Life Inside
January 26
How a Borrowed Blazer, Tie and Dress Shirt Helped Me See Myself as a Man, Not a Prisoner
On a special visiting day at Washington Corrections Center, incarcerated men were able to dress up. This seemingly small change made a big difference.
By
Darrell Jackson
Analysis
December 8, 2023
Computer Book Bans and Other Insights From a Year Investigating Prison Censorship
Incomplete data. Inconsistent policies. How banned books in prison can strip away an incarcerated person’s vision of the outside world.
By
David Eads
Closing Argument
November 4
The Prison Soul Band That Opened for Stevie Wonder
The band The Power of Attorney flourished when more Americans saw incarcerated people as more than their crimes.
By
Maurice Chammah
Life Inside
November 3
Prison Is a Dangerous Place for LGBTQ+ People. I Made a Safe Space in the Library.
As a queer teen, Michael Shane Hale found belonging in books. Here’s how he built a place where everyone can read in peace in prison.
By
Michael Shane Hale
News
October 18, 2023
Many Prisons Restrict Books to Stop Drug Smuggling. Critics Say It Doesn’t Work.
Battling an overdose crisis, more prisons are blocking books based on the sender or packaging. Free speech advocates call it a de facto book ban.
By
Shannon Heffernan
and
Andrew Rodriguez Calderón
Life Inside
August 18
Prison Healthcare Means Not Knowing What’s Slowly Destroying My Body
For over two years, a mystery illness has made it hard for James Keown to walk, sit up and eat. Now he wonders if he has to die to be diagnosed.
By
James Keown
Closing Argument
August 12, 2023
What the New Wave of Prison Art Tells Us About Incarceration Today
From LEGO sculptures to psychedelic quilts, several new exhibits convey the prison experience in ways that transcend words alone.
By
Maurice Chammah