Prison Writers

08/22/2026

Prison Writers

Jerry Metcalf describes su***de watch in prison, including solitary confinement, Bam-Bam cells, and degrading conditions.

08/19/2026

Prison Writers

08/15/2026

Prison Writers

Chiron Francis describes the anxiety, humiliation, and loss that accompany annual prison lockdowns and shakedowns in a Texas prison.

08/04/2026

Prison Writers

Gordon Grilz writes about why he prefers being called a "prisoner" over "incarcerated person" or any of the other labels for people in prison.

07/29/2026

Prison Writers

Alex Friedmann explains how a plea bargain can pressure defendants into accepting life without parole simply to escape harsh pretrial confinement.

07/25/2026

Prison Writers

Derrick Walker explains how sentencing policies, overcrowding, staff shortages, and prolonged lockdowns are creating the conditions for a prison system collapse in North Carolina. In the early 1990s, then Governor Jim Hunt decided to pass a new set of sentencing guidelines to get tough on crime—a ...

07/22/2026

Prison Writers

Jibreel Mehdi explains how religious discrimination in prison prevents Shi’a Muslims from practicing their faith freely within the North Carolina prison system.

07/15/2026

Prison Writers

James Berman describes how four incarcerated men cope with prison life through scrabble in prison, trading humor, competition and friendship one word at a time.

07/11/2026

Prison Writers

Shakeil Price describes how surviving in prison requires fighting for freedom, health, dignity, and identity in a system he believes is designed to break him.