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An illustration shows an incarcerated individual within ripped pages of a calendar.
Life Inside September 22
The Art of Bidding, or How I Survived Federal Prison
When Eric Borsuk went to prison with his two best friends, they found their ‘bid’ — their purpose — together. Then one day, everything changed.
By Eric Borsuk
Life Inside August 4
Prison Money Diaries: What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars
We asked people in prison to track their earning and spending — and bartering and side hustles — for 30 days. Their accounts reveal a thriving underground economy behind bars.
By Beth Schwartzapfel
An illustration shows a man with medium-toned skin and dark curly hair on the left in the foreground, looking concerned, and a man on the right with light-toned skin and long brown hair with his hand gesturing towards his head. In the background, the two men in prison uniforms sit at a table. Barbed-wire fencing is woven through the illustration.
Life Inside July 8
‘You Shouldn’t Have Used the D-Word’
Saying “I’m depressed” to jail staff landed Nicholas Brooks in solitary. But with his peers, he has found a way to speak freely.
By Nicholas Brooks
Ronnie Peterson, a man with short brown hair, light-toned skin and wearing a turquoise polo shirt, and Bridget Peterson, a woman with medium-length blonde hair, light-toned skin and wearing a navy blue T-shirt, kneel at the grave of their son, with their hands resting on the gravestone.
News June 22
Louisiana Limits Solitary Confinement for Youth
The governor signed the state’s first law restricting isolation for youth after two suicides and an investigation by The Marshall Project, ProPublica and NBC News into harsh conditions in a new juvenile facility.
By Beth Schwartzapfel, Erin Einhorn, and Annie Waldman
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
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