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Prison Journalism Project

Prison Journalism Project

Independent Journalism by the Incarcerated

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Life Choices

These are essays and reflections on life choices and their consequences.

Subscribe to Inside Story to receive exclusive behind-the-scene looks at our best stories, as well as author profiles and other insights.

Hand with index finger extended, pointing
Posted inPoetry

B.L.A.M.E.

by Charles Mooney December 5, 2023December 1, 2023
An aerial view of a city neighborhood at night time
Posted inPoetry

Falling Forward

by Dennis Jefferson Jr. June 4, 2023June 1, 2023
A search for self-worth started with shoplifting candy and ended with a prison sentence for murder.
Posted inEssays & Memoirs

I Was a Monster

by Tien Nguyen March 23, 2023March 22, 2023
Solitary confinement can be a disorienting experience
Posted inPoetry

Banal America

by Nate A. Lindell October 19, 2022March 7, 2023
Train passing through a railroad crossing
Posted inPoetry

Midnight Train

by Sid Pair O'Dice October 7, 2022September 30, 2022
A small bronze statuette of The Thinker by French sculptor Auguste Rodin
Posted inPoetry

Doesn’t Make You Weak

by Davon Blackstone August 22, 2022August 12, 2022
Blurred silhouette of a man reflected on blue glass
Posted inPoetry

Intoxicated

by Jeffery Shockley August 1, 2022July 30, 2022
A man covers his face while the word "disconnected" is projected over his body.
Posted inPerspective

In Prison, My Worldview Shifted From Apathy to Empathy

by Delbert Williams July 20, 2022August 23, 2022
A chain loops three times around a Black man's hands
Posted inPoetry

Chosen Chains

by Davon Blackstone June 24, 2022June 16, 2022
A young boy points a plastic toy gun.
Posted inEssays & Memoirs

Watching Gang Violence From the Outside

by Carnell Wingfield Jr. June 6, 2022August 11, 2022

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