Tony Vick

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. You can reach him by USPS.

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

Gang-Run Prisons Compound Trauma. We Know How to Reduce It.

In many United States prisons, corrections officers aren't the ones calling the shots. Gang-affiliated prisoners are, and essentially have free…

March 19, 2025

Learning to Be Openly Gay in Prison, to Anyone Who Asks (Except PREA)

The experience of being gay in prison has changed a lot since I was first incarcerated almost 30 years ago.…

February 10, 2025

Waiting for Tennessee to Reform Its Felony Murder Rule

The trajectory of most proposed changes to Tennessee’s criminal-legal system is for all of us to stay in prison as…

January 21, 2025

TN Prisons Don’t Expedite Early Release. What If It’s an Emergency?

Douglas Richmond’s case for early release from prison is relatively straightforward. He’s served six years on a first-time, nonviolent conviction,…

December 26, 2024

In Prison, a Sex Conviction Is a Target for Assault. Staff Pretends Otherwise.

Coming into the Tennessee men’s prison system nearly 30 years ago, I assumed that my murder conviction would make me…

December 11, 2024

Learning to Live With Suicide in Prison

[This article describes deaths by suicide, including references to the methods of suicide.]              …

November 14, 2024

Given Few Options for Chronic Pain, Prisoners Are Making Safer Moonshine

Moonshine, hooch, julep, toilet wine, clear—whatever they call it, over the past 30 years Tennessee’s prison bootleggers have improved their…

November 12, 2024

Photographing the Community on Tennessee’s Death Row

From 2010 to 2015 I was incarcerated in Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, the Tennessee prison that houses death row for…

October 29, 2024

A Death Row Pastor’s View of Executions

From 2010 to 2015 I was incarcerated at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, the site of death row…

October 21, 2024

Some Thoughts on Dying in Prison

Over the course of my nearly 30 years in Tennessee Department of Correction custody, I've seen many friends die painlessly.…

October 2, 2024