Prison Journalism Project

When I first met Michael in 2023, it was in a different mosque, the one at the former Sullivan Correctional Facility, a smaller prison near New York’s Catskill Mountains. At first, Michael seemed quiet and slightly standoffish. I’d see him in the yard most mornings, performing grueling workouts with his crew: push-ups on top of dumbbells, barbell curls that seemed never-endi...

Growing up in California, car shows were a semi-regular part of my childhood. But when I arrived in prison in 2014, I never thought I’d see one again.

A decade later, my friend William Mace told me he knew a lot of people from the lowrider community.

“I’m going to put on a car show for the yard,” he said.

Mace worked with the adminis...

In July, without any advance notice, the 60 men housed on my cellblock were on the receiving end of an unconventional yet life-changing announcement: “Netflixs” had arrived at our Texas prison and was now live.

Unlike apps for streaming services, this Netflixs stood about 5-foot-5, had a huge round belly and spoke with a Southern country-boy twang.

Previ...

Since 1994, the average length of a prison sentence in Oregon, excluding life or death sentences, has increased from nearly two years to

The fruit had a crunch to it, not soggy like the fruit served with some of our meals. And the supply was endless: heaps of grapes the size of marbles, strawberries that were swollen and very sweet, overflowing chunks of watermelon. The lights were dim and jazz music played over the speaker. Everything felt soothing.

For the incarcerated women at New Jersey’s only ...