prisonjournalismproject

The First Days of a Decade-Long Sentence in China

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Editor’s note: The story below captures the author’s experience arriving at a Chinese detention center after ...
prisonjournalismproject

When Arizona Banned Cigarettes in Its Prisons, Bartering Went Berserk

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. At the start of the summer, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry announced in an ...
prisonjournalismproject

At a New Mexico Prison, a Much-Needed Resource For Lifers Comes to Life

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. For lifers serving time in New Mexico prisons, formal education is hard to come by. Like many states, the Land of ...
prisonjournalismproject

When Kittens Came to My Prison, I Had Not Petted One in 15 Years

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Nothing in prison is soft and cuddly. Prisons are concrete and steel and stocked with hard people doing hard time ...
prisonjournalismproject

I’ve Spent More Than Half of My Life in Prison

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. For more than half of my life, I have not been free. I was sent to prison when I was 15 years old for ...
prisonjournalismproject

The Graying of America’s Prisons

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. The following story is part of PJP's special project, "The Graying of America’s Prisons." For this series, we ...
prisonjournalismproject

Both Sides of the Law: A Former Police Officer Serves Life

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Everything was cold, gray and hard. The lights were too bright or too dim, but always tinted in a yellow haze. It ...
prisonjournalismproject

I Started Using Heroin Inside. Now the Federal Bureau of Prisons Won’t Give Me Treatment.

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. No one who knows me from the free world would ever believe that I resorted to using heroin. I was never a party ...
prisonjournalismproject

The Life of an Elected Official Who’s Also in Jail

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of ...
prisonjournalismproject

Sending Teenagers to Prison Has Severe Consequences

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. In 2009, when I was 17 years old, I got involved in gang violence and was soon charged with first-degree murder.
prisonjournalismproject

After Exposing a Lack of Addiction Treatment, I Was Transferred to One of the Country’s Deadliest Prisons

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Just a few days after my article about the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ refusal to provide me and other prisoners ...
prisonjournalismproject

7 Stories and Illustrations on Crafting Art in Prison

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Art is a conduit for creativity, emotional expression and healing — no less true inside prisons. Making art ...