Tony Vick

    Tony has served almost three decades of a life sentence in Tennessee. He is the author of two books, Secrets From a Prison Cell (Cascade Books, 2018) and Locked In and Locked Out (Resource Publications, 2023). His writing has also been published at Solitary Watch, the Progressive, Truthout, Shado and in multiple books and anthologies, the most recent of which is Storms of the Inland Sea (Shanti Arts, 2022). His Filter story about CoreCivic medical care won “Best News” at the 2025 Stillwater Prison Journalism Awards. You can reach him by USPS.

    Tony Vick #276187
    South Central Correctional Facility
    PO Box 279
    Clifton, TN 38425-0279

    “Your Life Is Over”: Prison Guards on 16-Hour Shifts With No Backup

    Three decades ago when I began my prison sentence, corrections officers worked eight-hour shifts. ...

    As Gang Power Expands, Protective Custody in Prisons Is Changing

    During my nearly 30 years of incarceration in the Tennessee prison system, there has ...

    A Prison Mental Health Unit Is Left in Gen Pop, and the Grievance Is Ignored

    South Central Correctional Facility is one of six Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) prisons ...

    Many Prisoners Take the GED Test. It’s Hard to Get a Job in Here Without It.

    In 2022, Tennessee amended its state constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as ...

    The Barriers to Learning to Read in Prison

    About 20 years ago, a man I was incarcerated with asked me to help ...

    What Decades in Prison Have Taught Me About Resisting Incarceration

    In 2006, the prison where I was being housed routinely served a breakfast that ...

    What the Southern Baptist Church Taught Me About LGBTQ+ Education

    Earlier in July, a Tennessee county library board came close to banning all books ...