Controversial self-defense statutes favored by pro-gun activists around the country are in place in at least 10 states. But they were not designed for people who have been historically marginalized, argues a Texas inmate.
Browsing: Prison Writing
Creative writing workshops around the country give incarcerees unique tools to deal with trauma and return to society. But despite their proven benefits, insufficient funding and skepticism from authorities keep the number of programs low.
A meeting with the relatives of the man he killed causes an inmate to reflect with pain on the “horrific” act that put him behind bars.
A San Quentin inmate recalls the son he lost to violence in the community he left behind.
A California inmate serving a life term was recently asked to explain why he writes. Here’s his answer.
Years after entering prison, Leo Cardez is still grappling with the childhood traumas and resentments that destroyed his life.
As an 11-year-old he was bullied by classmates. Thirty years later he looked back with regret on the choices that turned him into a violent gang member serving life in prison, in this essay produced for “The Beat Within” justice writing workshop in San Francisco.
In an essay published by the San Francisco-based writing workshop The Beat Within, an incarceree writes about the first time he was sent to juvenile hall, at the age of 13, and why he wishes there was an alternative to police intervention for young people who need “love and guidance.”
Solitary confinement, at least in Texas, is a place where prison administrators send inmates to “complete their mental decline―to rot, separated and alone from the rest of humanity,” writes a Texas prisoner.
Can U.S. prisons be more than violent warehouses? A pilot program launched in 2019 in Miami proves it’s possible, writes a resident who says being treated “humanely” has given him the confidence and skills he needs to rejoin civilian society.