In this piece republished from the Prison Journalism Project, Antwann Lamont Johnson reflects on the history of Juneteenth and speaks to others at the Missouri prison where he is incarcerated about their views on the day and its meaning.
Browsing: Prison Writing
Rahsaan Thomas, co-host of the Ear Hustle podcast, writes about the impact of ‘negative odds’ on his experience of life and his time in the criminal justice system.
Why do individuals survive prison—whether gulags or supermax isolation? Usually, it’s through reliving the memories of a different life—and of the mistakes that could have been avoided, writes a former 40-year resident of Death Row.
TCR contributor Jeremy Busby recently met a fellow prisoner serving six life terms for crimes committed when he was 15. There are countless others whose grave offenses as juveniles condemned them to life without parole in adult prisons—but they deserve a second chance, Busby writes.
When you’re serving life without parole, every moment is a reminder of how much you’ve lost to the passage of time, writes incarceree Efren Ballard.
Habakkuk Nickens was recently granted compassionate release from federal prison, where he had been serving a 20-year sentence on a racketeering charge. This is the latest in a series of columns documenting his return home.
A chance conversation with another inmate led an incarceree serving a life sentence to find inspiration in the promises of the U.S. Constitution and the stories of people who found hope in adversity.
A former incarceree describes his emotional reconciliation with family after 10 years behind bars.
The Texas Department of Prisons breeds an ‘us against them’ culture between corrections officers and inmates that damages and corrupts both sides, writes Jeremy Busby, an inmate in one of the state’s maximum security facilities.
The Washington State Supreme Court has taken a bold step toward protecting children in the legal system by requiring them to be identified only by their initials in court documents. Will other states follow suit?