“When Kittens Came to My Prison, I Had Not Petted One in 15 Years” by Cameron Terhune

This story is about unexpected cat encounters on the inside. It’s also about softening and surprising ourselves. Terhune uses the “cold and heartless” life of prison to contrast the delight that emerges from time spent with little tabby furballs. His kitten experiences reminded me how deeply all beings belong to each other. And how warm hope can be.

— Clare Hammoor, director of learning

“Do People in Prison Have a Right to Be Heard?” by Jeffrey McKee 

Ahead of the presidential election, PJP published a series of essays about voting and democracy behind bars. Among them was this provocative piece by longtime contributor Jeff McKee, who wrote of the paltry means available to people in prison to make their voices heard. By exposing the inadequacy of these options — the prison grievance system and the courts were his two primary examples — Jeff made clear the degree to which incarcerated people are effectively silenced. What would it take, he wonders, for him and his peers to truly be heard? It’s a question that any mature democracy must eventually answer. 

— Mason Bryan, senior editor

“I’m Watching The Knicks’ Playoff Run From Prison” by Darrell Powell

Sometimes the trials and tribulations of our favorite sports teams reflect our own lives. For better or worse, that has been the case for Darrell Powell. Over the last two decades, Powell has served “one of the most miserable sentences while rooting for one of the most miserable teams.” But that changed last season when the New York Knicks recorded their second-best season this century. As he writes, “I will keep rooting for the Knicks and rooting for myself. If they can beat the odds, maybe I can too.”

— Wyatt Stayner, deputy editor

“‘We The People’ Includes We The Incarcerated” by Kwaneta Harris

In this essay, Kwaneta Harris argues that denying incarcerated people the right to vote undermines the democratic process. Harris, who writes from Texas, encourages readers to consider the broad disparities in sentencing between the rich and the poor. And, when she talks about the effects of her state’s decision to digitize incoming mail, she shows the smaller, but no less profound, ways that politics and policy impact the lives of incarcerated people. This is a thoughtful piece, well worth the four-minute read. “Larger attacks on our rights and dignity are also occurring while we cry out into the abyss, hoping someone will hear us,” she writes. We hear you, Kwaneta.

— Lyneka Little, audience engagement editor

“I’ve Spent More Than Half of My Life in Prison” by Christopher Dankovich

In this eloquent essay, Chris Dankovich traces the stages that so many of us who have gone to prison must endure, much like the stages of grief. I’m impressed by the man who was incarcerated as a boy but grew despite the horrible challenges he faced behind bars. In my time inside, I saw many people in the scenarios he describes, and his words illustrate that what happens behind the razor wire is so much more than what so many expect. Some even find a sense of groundedness in confinement: Be “present at the moment,” Dankovich writes, “even if that moment is in prison.”

— JoyBelle Phelan, writer relations manager

“As a Girl in Prison, I Experienced Degrading Health Care” by Jamie Silvonek

In the United States, prison is one place where residents have a constitutional right to medical care. This right, derived from the Eighth Amendment, does not specify a standard, so the quality of care people behind bars receive varies greatly across states and facilities. In one of my favorite PJP pieces of this year, Jamie Silvonek writes about reproductive health care she and other people in her prison have received. Their stories of trauma and invasive procedures are painful to read. In telling them, Jamie asks readers to bear witness to the unforgivable mistreatment experienced by the country’s most vulnerable citizens.

— Carla Canning, PJP editor

“In a Prison of Conformity, This Is How We Display Our Individuality” by Lexie Handlang

Lexie Handlang’s reported essay on how people express fashion inside prison has all the markers of a good story. Not only is it a unique topic that is relatable to outside audiences, but the piece uses the concept of expressing individuality to illuminate what life is like inside prison for those who are not familiar. Handlang seamlessly weaves personal narrative with interviews that add depth to the story. The lede speaks volumes and hooks the reader: “Prison strips you of any sense of individuality.” And the kicker ties up the piece nicely: “Our individuality helps us keep our spirits alive in a place designed to break us.”

— Ambreen Ali, managing editor of PJP Inside

“How One Man Got the DOJ to Investigate His Arizona Prison” by Chastyn “Nova” Hicks

Chastyn “Nova” Hicks’ engaging story about disability activism is one I have returned to again and again, to see how to construct a news story with a compelling narrative. Hicks weaves facts into the story seamlessly and, before I know it, the story ends on a thought-provoking quote from its heroic subject. The story also is on an important topic that I haven’t heard enough about: the extreme ableism and discarding of dis- and differently-abled people in prison.

— Lee Nacozy, PJP editor

“Boxer Shorts Blues: My Path to Gender-Affirming Underwear in Prison” by K.C. Johnson

Prison strips people of privacy and choice in nearly every way possible. K.C. Johnson writes about the ways the system regulates even the most personal facets of one’s life: underwear. Johnson guides others who fall outside of the straight lines of gender on what to expect navigating the prison system. “The first layer of cement will harden around your heart,” Johnson writes about standing cold and naked in front of officers to prove their sex upon intake. If you are facing a long sentence, Johnson explains, now is the time to decide if this is a battle you wish to fight.

— Danielle Preiss, PJP editor