Tony has served almost three decades of a life with parole sentence in Tennessee. Before prison he lived as a closeted gay man; his Southern Baptist parents and an older brother have since died. While incarcerated he has worked as a tutor, clerk and newspaper editor. He’s also begun book clubs and writing workshops, and prisoner-led elder care programs. He writes about captivity in the hope of contributing to the prison reform movement.
C*, a 39-year-old Army veteran, struggled to adjust to daily life after coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq. When he…
For nearly three decades, I've been hearing people scream for help. Screams of people being raped, robbed, stabbed. Screams of…
The library at South Central Correctional Facility, a Tennessee prison privately operated by CoreCivic, consists of a single wall of…
At age 18, Frank De Palma entered Nevada Department of Corrections custody on a 10-year sentence for a nonviolent felony.…
Lonnie, in his late 40s, was a high school teacher for 20 years before he came to prison. He and…
Our living unit at South Central Correctional Facility in Tennessee doesn't have a communal TV, but there are TVs in…
After nearly 30 years in prison, I still find moments of joy and happiness. I wondered if anyone else was…
Five years ago, abdominal pain drove James to the infirmary at South Central Correctional Facility, the Tennessee private prison where…
In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) opened Trousdale Turner Correctional Center—the largest of the state's 14 prisons, and…
Prisoners in solitary confinement are often served something called Nutraloaf. Imagine taking all the old crap from the back of…