Search About Newsletters Donate
The wall of a cell shows an area with gray exposed paint in the shape of a hole.
News April 28
Solitary Confinement Harms Teens. Louisiana Lawmakers Took a Step to Limit It.
An investigation by The Marshall Project, NBC News and ProPublica found that youth in a Louisiana lockup were held in isolation around the clock for weeks.
By Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project; Erin Einhorn, NBC News; and Annie Waldman, ProPublica
An illustration shows a side-profile silhouette of a long-haired man against a yellow and green gradient background. The man looks toward a window that displays nature and has prairie animals coming out of it.
Life Inside March 18
California’s Longest Serving Death-Row Prisoner On Pain, Survival and Native Identity
As the Monache and Cherokee 63-year-old awaits a new hearing for a 1978 murder he denies committing, Douglas Ray Stankewitz shares the cultural tools and memories he depends on to stay alive.
By Douglas Ray Stankewitz as told to Richard Arlin Walker
A photo illustration shows the silhouettes of four dark-skinned teens facing a door in a solitary confinement unit. Light shines through a window in the door. As the viewer scrolls up on the story, the light from the window gets brighter.
Feature March 10
“No Light. No Nothing.” Inside Louisiana’s Harshest Juvenile Lockup
Teens at the Acadiana Center for Youth at St. Martinville were held in solitary confinement around the clock, shackled with leg irons and deprived of an education. “This is child abuse,” one expert said.
Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project; Erin Einhorn, NBC News; and Annie Waldman, ProPublica
Life Inside February 18
Inside the Underground Economy of Solitary Confinement
Goods are scarce in any correctional facility, but the circumstances are especially dire for those in isolation. Here’s how people in “the box” use their ingenuity, collaboration skills and a form of “fishing” to get what they need.
By Matthew Azzano
Inside Out October 14, 2021
They Put Me in Solitary for Drugs I Didn’t Have
Lockups use unreliable tests to claim that lawyers are sending drugs to their clients behind bars.
By Keri Blakinger
Detainees eat lunch at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Florence, Ariz., on Feb. 28, 2013.
Life Inside November 25, 2020
Why My First Thanksgiving in Prison Was The Best One I’d Had In Forever
Between being sober, getting a visit and having a surprise feast with the mean girls in my unit, I still cherish that day.
By Keri Blakinger
The System November 13, 2020
Life Behind the Wall
Sure, prisons and jails are dangerous places. But everyday life inside isn’t as explosive as TV and movies make it look.
By Nicole Lewis and Annaliese Griffin
Life Inside September 24, 2020
I Hate My Prison Dorm So Much, I Enjoyed COVID-19 Quarantine in the Box
After two decades in a single-person cell, I moved to an open dorm with 30 other men. Between the smells, stress and lack of privacy, I was happy to spend time in solitary confinement.
By Corey Devon Arthur
A juvenile at the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans in 2018.
Coronavirus May 12, 2020
Solitary, Brawls, No Teachers: Coronavirus Makes Juvenile Jails Look Like Adult Prisons
Youth lockups are supposed to rehabilitate kids, not punish them. The pandemic is making that harder than ever.
By Eli Hager
Wesley Williams is a writer incarcerated at Upstate Correctional Facility in New York.
Life Inside May 7, 2020
The Cruel Irony of Social Distancing When You’re Stuck in Solitary
Our running joke: ‘You may go crazy in here, but at least you won’t get corona.’
By Wesley Williams
About
People
Jobs
Sitemap
Funders