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Prison Writing

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
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
An illustration shows a blue eye with a scene in its pupil. The scene is an outline of a person in an orange prison uniform sitting down on a bed, in the corner of their cell.
Life Inside February 9
My Biggest Daily Challenge in Prison Isn’t Violence. It’s the Monotony.
Boredom may seem like a small price to pay for committing a crime. But life on the inside isn’t so much a physical battle as it is a mental one.
By Jy'Aire Smith-Pennick
An illustration shows a person in a khaki prison uniform standing in front of a mirror. In the mirror, the person adjusts their tie while wearing a navy blazer and white dress shirt.
Life Inside January 26
How a Borrowed Blazer, Tie and Dress Shirt Helped Me See Myself as a Man, Not a Prisoner
On a special visiting day at Washington Corrections Center, incarcerated men were able to dress up. This seemingly small change made a big difference.
By Darrell Jackson
A group of women in tan prison uniforms sitting in a room, watching a television show.
Life Inside April 7, 2023
What I Learned From a Year of ‘Life Inside’
Publishing personal essays about the criminal justice system can be as complex as the system itself, writes engagement journalist Carla Canning.
By
Life Inside April 13, 2022
How to Write for The Marshall Project’s Life Inside
Life Inside is a weekly series of first-person essays from people who live or work in the criminal justice system. Here are answers to the questions people ask us most.
By The Marshall Project
Life Inside February 27, 2020
Welcome to ‘The Zo’
Where prison guards’ favorite tactic is messing with your head.
Illustrated by Molly Crabapple and narrated by Michael K. Williams
Life Inside February 6, 2020
From the Inside Looking Out
When you’re in prison, outside sights and sounds can become cruel jokes.
By Keith Martin
Life Inside January 30, 2020
Game of Phones
In a prison where 200 men share eight phones, making back-to-back calls is like challenging the guy behind you to a duel.
By Olethus Hill Jr.
Life Inside January 23, 2020
How I Finally Learned That Trauma Does Not Define Me
“It can be exhausting to tell and retell your painful story just to get people to listen to you about other things.”
By Marlon Peterson
Life Inside January 9, 2020
Fighting Time When You’re Doing Time
“Time has made it abundantly clear that my ability to exercise patience—or not to—doesn’t sway it in the least.”
By Michael E. Gaston
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