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Prison Writing

A group of women in tan prison uniforms sitting in a room, watching a television show.
Life Inside April 7
What I Learned From a Year of ‘Life Inside’
Publishing personal essays about the criminal justice system can be as complex as the system itself, writes engagement journalist Carla Canning.
By
Life Inside April 13, 2022
How to Write for The Marshall Project’s Life Inside
Life Inside is a weekly series of first-person essays from people who live or work in the criminal justice system. Here are answers to the questions people ask us most.
By The Marshall Project
Life Inside February 27, 2020
Welcome to ‘The Zo’
Where prison guards’ favorite tactic is messing with your head.
Illustrated by Molly Crabapple and narrated by Michael K. Williams
Life Inside February 6, 2020
From the Inside Looking Out
When you’re in prison, outside sights and sounds can become cruel jokes.
By Keith Martin
Life Inside January 30, 2020
Game of Phones
In a prison where 200 men share eight phones, making back-to-back calls is like challenging the guy behind you to a duel.
By Olethus Hill Jr.
Life Inside January 23, 2020
How I Finally Learned That Trauma Does Not Define Me
“It can be exhausting to tell and retell your painful story just to get people to listen to you about other things.”
By Marlon Peterson
Life Inside January 9, 2020
Fighting Time When You’re Doing Time
“Time has made it abundantly clear that my ability to exercise patience—or not to—doesn’t sway it in the least.”
By Michael E. Gaston
Arthur Longworth led a Spanish class for other inmates in the Monroe Correctional Complex library in Monroe, Wash.
News April 5, 2018
Silencing Arthur Longworth
A prizewinning writer is punished for acting like a free man.
By
Life Inside September 21, 2017
Confronting the Truth About My Friend on Death Row
No matter what, I don't think he should die.
By Dani Clark
Life Inside August 10, 2017
What I Learned From the Neo-Nazi in My Prison Book Club
An inmate who grew up worshipping Hitler forces a reading group facilitator to challenge her own beliefs.
By Karen Lausa
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