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Prison Life
Jeff Östberg for The Marshall Project
Closing Argument
The Prison Soul Band That Opened for Stevie Wonder
The band The Power of Attorney flourished when more Americans saw incarcerated people as more than their crimes.
Life Inside
November 3
Prison Is a Dangerous Place for LGBTQ+ People. I Made a Safe Space in the Library.
As a queer teen, Michael Shane Hale found belonging in books. Here’s how he built a place where everyone can read in peace in prison.
By
Michael Shane Hale
News
October 18
Many Prisons Restrict Books to Stop Drug Smuggling. Critics Say It Doesn’t Work.
Battling an overdose crisis, more prisons are blocking books based on the sender or packaging. Free speech advocates call it a de facto book ban.
By
Shannon Heffernan
and
Andrew Rodriguez Calderón
Life Inside
August 18
Prison Healthcare Means Not Knowing What’s Slowly Destroying My Body
For over two years, a mystery illness has made it hard for James Keown to walk, sit up and eat. Now he wonders if he has to die to be diagnosed.
By
James Keown
Closing Argument
August 12
What the New Wave of Prison Art Tells Us About Incarceration Today
From LEGO sculptures to psychedelic quilts, several new exhibits convey the prison experience in ways that transcend words alone.
By
Maurice Chammah
Life Inside
August 4
Why Fighting California Wildfires Was the Best Prison Job I Ever Had
On the fire line, David Desmond found that racial segregation and gang affiliation could not withstand the unifying power of extinguishing a blaze.
By
David Desmond
Looking Back
August 3
Redemption Songs: The Forgotten History of American Prison Music
From blues to gospel, country to rap, people have been making music behind bars for decades. Here’s why we should all tune in.
By
Maurice Chammah
News Inside
July 28
Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop.
With renewed purpose, Issue 14 of News Inside goes the extra yard to deliver information behind bars.
By
Lawrence Bartley
Cleveland
June 20
Ohio Prison System Bans Java Computer Manual, But Allows Hitler’s Mein Kampf
Incarcerated people are baffled by the state’s book screening process.
By
The Marshall Project
News
May 22
We Spent Two Years Investigating Abuse by Prison Guards in New York. Here Are Five Takeaways.
The state fails to fire most corrections officers it accuses of violence against prisoners or covering up abuse.
By
Alysia Santo
and
Joseph Neff