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Sing Sing Prison

A Black man wearing a green shirt and pants against a blue background sits with a notebook in his hand. Behind him, from left to right, a man in orange wears blue headphones covers his face, a woman with blonde hair sings, and a person in olive green plays the violin. There is also a gray Walkman with orange headphones on the left and an orange keyboard on the right.
Life Inside April 18
How I Became an Opera Composer in a Maximum Security Prison
I learned music theory through workshops at New York’s Sing Sing prison. I earned my stripes by singing for boisterous crowds of incarcerated critics.
By Joseph Wilson
A magazine called News Inside set against a grainy tan backdrop. Light refracted through prison bars shines onto the magazine.
News Inside March 11
Strength Behind Bars
News Inside Issue 19 honors women navigating the correctional system.
By
Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, a man with medium-toned skin, sits in a theater with red seats.
Life Inside February 28
‘Sing Sing’ Actor Jon-Adrian ‘JJ’ Velazquez Reflects on the Power of Prison Theater
JJ Velazquez served nearly 24 years for a murder he didn’t commit. A unique prison arts program transformed him into an actor and activist.
By Jon-Adrian Velazquez, as told to
A magazine called News Inside set against a grainy tan backdrop. The cover says “Sing Sing Film Fest" and features a raised hand holding a film reel. Light refracted through prison bars shines onto the magazine.
News Inside December 11, 2024
Lights, Camera, Action
News Inside Issue 18 provides a glimpse into the first-ever Sing Sing Film Festival.
By
The entrance to a Texas prison facility, a gray rectangular building with a detached teal shaded structure in front of it. A black car is parked to the right. There are wired fences and buildings in the background.
Closing Argument September 10, 2022
Why Record Heat Can Be Deadlier in Prisons
Corrections officials across most of the nation have not prepared for warmer summers and record heat waves.
By
A group of people walk through a dark hallway with prison cells on either side.
Feature June 9, 2022
Rethinking Prison Tourism
Many former prison sites draw on the spooky and salacious to entertain visitors. But some are having second thoughts.
By Hope Corrigan
People at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, in 2016.
Life Inside April 14, 2020
“Covid Breached the Wall and Killed A Man Yesterday”
Trying to stay alive in Sing Sing.
By Dino Caroselli, as told to
Life Inside December 12, 2019
I Did My 25 Years. Now I’m Fighting Another Sentence—Deportation
I barely remember my birthplace, Jamaica, and I have no family left there. Frankly, I’m terrified.
By Colin Absolam as told to
John J. Lennon, a journalist and prisoner at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, in 2018.
Life Inside November 13, 2019
What I Think About When I Think About Freedom
“It’s conflicting, I imagine, to hear how someone who once took a life thinks about living a good life.”
By
Life Inside October 10, 2019
Finding Peace—and Briefly, Freedom—at My Grandfather’s Funeral
“Saying goodbye with the people who loved him—and me—I remember that I am not the tomb that imprisons me.”
By
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