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A collage illustration shows a vinyl record at the center of the frame with various cutouts of black-and-white images overtop. On the left edge of the vinyl record, the 1950s musical group The Prisonaires is singing over a microphone. Toward the center, a group of musicians called The Outlaws poses with instruments in a yard. On the right side of the vinyl record, a man with a goatee listens to music through a pair of headphones. His eyes are closed. A soundwave connects all of these collaged photographs. Splashes of teal and purple paint lay beneath all these elements.
Looking Back August 3
Redemption Songs: The Forgotten History of American Prison Music
From blues to gospel, country to rap, people have been making music behind bars for decades. Here’s why we should all tune in.
By Maurice Chammah
An illustration shows a portrait of a Black man in blue and black ballpoint pen ink. White silhouettes of birds flying overlap his face.
Life Inside August 19, 2022
Dear Ira: I Want You to Know You Did Not Die in Vain
Jy’Aire Smith-Pennick participated in the robbery and shootout that claimed the life of a Delaware man named Ira Hopkins. Here is Pennick’s letter to Hopkins, “a loving son and uncle, an amazing chef and a leader.”
By Jy’Aire Smith-Pennick
Feature June 7, 2022
A Tupperware of Heroin, Or How I Ended Up in Prison
In an excerpt from her new memoir, ‘Corrections in Ink,’ Keri Blakinger puts us at the scene of her drug arrest — and her path to becoming The Marshall Project’s first formerly incarcerated staff writer.
By Keri Blakinger
The Florence Federal Correctional Complex in southern Colorado, in 2015.
Commentary October 17, 2017
Federal Prisons Don’t Even Try to Rehabilitate the Undocumented
The Bureau of Prisons fails to provide basic resources to undocumented prisoners.
Jacob Schuman
News October 23, 2016
If Prisoners Ran Prisons
Five Texas inmates say what they’d do differently.
By Maurice Chammah
The Frame May 16, 2016
A Peek at the Golden Age of Prison Radio
A new book explores a time when Texas prisons promoted rehabilitation through a wildly successful radio show.
By Maurice Chammah
Feature January 27, 2016
Why Some Young Sex Offenders Are Held Indefinitely
Jhon Sanchez already served his time for a series of sex offenses he committed when he was 13. But he’s not free yet. Inside the world of civil commitment.
By George Steptoe and Antoine Goldet
News January 25, 2016
The Secret Hints for Winning Parole
Brush your teeth, sit up straight, and prepare for disappointment.
By Beth Schwartzapfel
Asked and Answered January 22, 2015
‘I Spend Just as Much Time Protecting Felons from Society.’
A New York parole officer on GPS monitoring, the biggest challenges facing former inmates, and whether parole makes a difference.
By The Marshall Project
Justice Lab January 15, 2015
‘Blame Liberals’
A new book faults Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden and the NAACP for our prison state.
By Dana Goldstein
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