One of Prison Journalism Project’s year-end traditions is to share our favorite stories of the year. This year — like every year — we had a tough time choosing the best out of so many thought-provoking stories that had us thinking about them long after they published.
In late October, PJP staff editors chose 35 out of almost 160 stories we had published so far this year. We then narrowed those down to a short list of 20 stories, sometimes through spirited debate, and then asked PJP staff and contract editors to choose their favorite.
Our picks this year covered a range of topics: the experience of being a woman in prison, a memorial for the dead, the power of clemency, the troubling trend of teenage incarceration, and the challenges of using outdated technology in prison to fight legal battles.
We’re proud of the hard work all of our writers put into their stories, and we hope you enjoy reading this year’s selection.
— PJP Editors
“I’m Fighting for My Freedom Using Outdated Technology” by Jorge Luis Alvarado
Floppy disks haven’t been manufactured in roughly 15 years, yet they are still used widely in some prisons. As Alvarado writes in one of the year’s most striking pieces, “Inside New Jersey State Prison, it’s like 1985, where we rely on out-of-date word processors, electric typewriters and floppy disks that are going extinct in the free world.” This isn’t just an inconvenience — it creates real barriers for people trying to prepare legal filings on time, sometimes with life-altering consequences.
By focusing on floppy disks, Alvarado revealed a detail so striking that the story was picked up and shared by numerous tech blogs. In doing so, he opened the door for a new audience to care about what’s happening behind bars.
— Yukari Kane, co-founder and editor-in-chief
“What We Saw in Those Images From the El Salvador Mega Prison” by PJP Contributors
Our writers mostly write about their experience with prisons in the U.S. But in this dispatch, nine contributors reflected on the viral images of the dehumanizing conditions at the notorious CECOT megaprison in El Salvador.
By relating their own experiences in U.S. prisons to these photographs, our writers made themselves and the people incarcerated in El Salvador more visible. Our writers’ lived experiences brought a depth to these photos that made me feel disturbed and moved.
— Clare Hammoor, director of learning
“What Extreme Cold Feels Like in Prison” by PJP Contributors
Imagine you sleep in a small cell. The toilet is situated mere feet from your bed. You wake up, you peer into the toilet, and you find a sheet of ice. That was the experience one winter for a writer incarcerated in Maryland — one of 27 from across the country who contributed to PJP’s special project, “What Extreme Cold Feels Like in Prison.”
In short dispatches, contributors shared anecdotes about the worst cold they’d ever felt, and the lengths they’ve gone to stay warm behind bars. Almost a year since we published, I can’t shake the items so many writers said would make their lives more bearable during cold fronts: properly fitted jackets; a pair of winter boots; a hot pot; a good pair of gloves; more blankets; thick socks. Perhaps the most chilling takeaway from the project is the profound modesty of these unmet requests.
— Mason Bryan, editorial director
“In One Alabama Prison, the Dead Are Honored Through an ‘Outmate’ Memorial Service” by Destry McKinney
Since 2019, roughly 1,380 people have died in Alabama state prisons. How do people inside cope with such loss? At one of the state’s deadliest prisons, one way is a biannual memorial service to honor those they refer to as “outmates.”
In my favorite essay of the year, Destry McKinney — who helps run the service — revisited a 2022 memorial honoring 27 people. “I kept thinking our list was done, and then I’d be given more names to add to the presentation,” McKinney wrote. The story’s ending packed an even greater emotional wallop, as McKinney unfurled his own personal tragedy and explained how these memorials were helping him heal.
— Wyatt Stayner, deputy editor
“What It’s Like to Have Your Period in Prison” by Kelsey Dodson
Basic menstrual care in some prisons is bleak. The number of feminine products and panties are rationed, and monthly bleeding can lead to shame and humiliation. In this story, one of my favorites of the year, Dodson shared a rare and candid glimpse into being a woman in prison, one of about 10% of the country’s incarcerated population. While focusing primarily on the issue of underwear, Dodson wrote with sensitivity about a common problem in U.S. prisons while offering a simple solution that underscored the absurdity of what women are forced to endure. As she wrote: “It truly is a man’s world, even in a women’s prison.”
— Lyneka Little, audience engagement editor
“In Pennsylvania, We Can Do Better Than Caging Kids” by Jamie Silvonek
Jamie Silvonek’s essay about coming up in the prison system as a teenager resonated deeply with me. I also went to prison at a young age and connected with her descriptions of her experience behind bars. This story provided a compelling argument against sending thousands of minors to adult jails and prisons each year. As Silvonek wrote: “While my peers were going to prom, I was learning how to survive in a maximum security facility. Most of the time, I was confined to a cell by myself, struggling with thoughts of suicide.”
— Gem Jones, writer relations associate
“How My Women-Hating Worldview Was Disrupted Inside Prison” by Rashon Venable
Rashon Venable’s essay about misogyny behind bars — and how to disrupt it — is one of my favorites of the year. It’s not easy to read Venable grapples with his own history of violence toward women. “As a member of a street gang,” he wrote, “I had a twisted desire to always be in control. If violence was the answer to getting what I wanted, so be it.” But in his sincere attempt to understand the man he was when he committed those acts, he begins to show a model for what accountability can look like.
— Carla Canning, associate editor
“The Case Against #prisonfoodporn” by Daniel Rosen
A lot of PJP stories captured me this year, but Daniel Rosen’s corrective take on prison chow stood out. Prison recipe stories are always a fun read. But we sometimes forget the reasons such creativity is required to make food behind bars. As Rosen wrote in this essay, “We’re not talking about how the prison system turns fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs into contraband, and forces us to buy from profiteering food companies. We’re not talking about the long-term personal and public health impacts of unhealthy, disgusting and disrespectful institutional food service.” Rosen’s story is important food for thought.
— Melissa Slager, PJP copy editor
“How One Man Got the DOJ to Investigate His Arizona Prison” by Chastyn Hicks
Chastyn Hicks’ engaging story about disability activism is one I have returned to again and again as a model for how to construct a news story with a compelling narrative. Hicks seamlessly wove facts into the story and, before I knew it, the story ended with a thought-provoking quote from its heroic subject. This story also covered an important topic I hadn’t heard enough about: the ableism and discarding of dis- and differently-abled people in prison.
— Lee Nacozy, PJP editor
“Women in a New Jersey Prison Celebrate a New Shot at Clemency” by Lucretia Stone
In this story, Lucretia Stone took us inside a New Jersey prison, where women suddenly saw the possibility of freedom. In June 2024, when the governor made an executive order to expand clemency in New Jersey, Stone interviewed the people affected by the order and reported out the stories behind the governor’s decision. One of those people, Briann Linsey, described her surreal vetting interview for clemency. “I’m going to be able to hold my children soon!” she yelled, her joy bouncing off the walls of the prison’s gymnasium. Through Stone’s reporting, we are right there with Linsey, waiting on edge to see what will happen.
— Danielle Preiss, PJP editor
