Stories From Life Before Prison — Prison Journalism Project

Yellow police tape with police car and lights in the background.

Essays & Memoirs

When My Best Friend Died, Violence Took Hold of Me

by Jose Rodriguez September 12, 2023September 8, 2023

Traffic on the Schuykill Expressway (I-76) between Philadelphia and the northern and western suburbs

Essays & Memoirs

One Black Man’s Journey From the Suburbs to Prison

by Jeffery Shockley May 11, 2023May 15, 2023

Red glass dome of a wall-mounted fire alarm

Essays & Memoirs

In Prison, The Networks of Addiction Run Deep

by Robert Lee Williams May 7, 2023May 23, 2023

Q&A

Q&A: How to Stop Loving the Streets — And Why

by E.D.H. April 30, 2023April 27, 2023

Palms & tropical buildings are buffeted by high winds of a storm or hurricane under a foreboding stormy sky

Essays & Memoirs

Hanging On for Dear Life in a Hurricane

by Dino Schwertz April 11, 2023April 7, 2023

Boots on the beach

San Diego, Haunted Memories

by Heather D'Aoust April 9, 2023April 7, 2023

A street in Harlem, New York

Essays & Memoirs

Memory Lane Is Full of Potholes

by Reginald Stephen February 13, 2023April 11, 2023

Leaves lay on the grass

Family Values

by Fred Hill November 29, 2022November 23, 2022

A 2mg dose of fentanyl next to a penny to demonstrate its lethality

Essays & Memoirs

Watching My Cellie Overdose in Prison

by C.R. Addleman November 2, 2022October 28, 2022

Traumatic brain injuries can negatively influence behavior later in life.

Q&A

Q&A: Is Prison the Best Place for ‘A Broken Mind’?

by M. Yayah Sandi October 27, 2022October 21, 2022