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Women in Prison

An illustration shows three people on patient beds inside a dark room, with the orange sky visible through the window. On the right side, there are dark silhouettes of dialysis machines and tubes with puddles of water on the floor.
Feature December 16
Women Are Sent to This Federal Prison for Dialysis. They Say It’s Killing Them.
Patients at Carswell medical prison in Texas describe unsanitary conditions, missed treatments and substandard care.
By Kaley Johnson
[Use this form](https://airtable.com/appR7SW9BhPZGdXp9/pagDZ0cMp3LJ9uimP/form) to tell us about how menopause and perimenopause affects women behind bars.
Get Involved December 16
What’s It Like to Go Through Menopause in Prison? We Want to Know
Your insights will help inform a guide about the critical life stage that we’ll share with incarcerated people.
By
A man wearing blue pants and a white T-shirt dangles from and holds onto the threads of an American flag against a city skyline.
Life Inside July 4
What, to the American Incarcerated Person, Is Your Fourth of July?
In the spirit of Frederick Douglass’ historic speech, 20 currently and formerly incarcerated Americans explain what Independence Day means to them.
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Edited by
A pregnant woman wearing an orange prison uniform places her hand on her belly.
Closing Argument May 10
Why We Still Don’t Have Enough Solid Data on Pregnancy in Prison
A new report sheds light on pregnant people behind bars, but misses their lived experience.
By
A photograph of the Georgia State Capitol building.
Closing Argument April 12
The Bipartisan Push to Rethink Long Sentences for Abuse Survivors
A Georgia bill offers a model for other states looking to protect people who are accused or convicted of crimes stemming from their abuse.
By
A woman, who left her home because of intimate partner violence, stares outside a window at The Dream Center, a residential recovery facility, in Jackson, Tennessee, in 2023.
Closing Argument September 14, 2024
The Domestic Abuse Survivor to Prison Pipeline
Researchers surveyed people who kill their abusers. They found several complicated reasons why survivors end up in prison because of abuse.
By
An illustration shows two people, wearing green uniforms, with their medium-skin toned hands touching each other. They sit on a brown bench against a gray wired fence.
Life Inside February 16, 2024
I Never Thought I Could Fall In Love With a Woman. Then Came Prison.
We call straight women who couple up with fellow prisoners “gay for the stay.” That slang masks the complexity — and often beauty — of these bonds.
By Samantha Vantassell
Life Inside November 17, 2023
Being a Corrections Officer Is Hard Enough. Doing the Job While Pregnant Is a Nightmare.
Lia McKeown says a California prison refused to adjust her job duties to accommodate her pregnancies. Now she’s suing for discrimination.
By Lia McKeown as told to
Left: Mark Jones, serving life without parole in a Florida prison. Right: Incarcerated women at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama.
News and Awards August 29, 2023
Watch the Trailer for ‘Two Strikes’ and ‘Tutwiler’
The Marshall Project and Frontline’s short prison documentaries will air on PBS and can be streamed online.
By The Marshall Project
An illustration shows a portrait of a woman with green eyes, wearing a blouse and earrings. Clouds and yellow sun rays are in the background.
Life Inside July 21, 2023
A New Law Gave Me 1 Year With My Babies Before Heading to Prison. How Will I Say Goodbye?
Minnesota’s Healthy Start law allowed Victoria Lopez to begin her seven-year prison sentence at home with her infant twins. Now comes the separation.
By Victoria Lopez, as told to
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