Tony Vick

To See the US Prisons Crisis, Look at the Books We’re Trying to Read

The library at South Central Correctional Facility, a Tennessee prison privately operated by CoreCivic, consists of a single wall of…

August 1, 2024

“A Moral Crime”: 22 Years in Solitary, and the Prison System That Watched

At age 18, Frank De Palma entered Nevada Department of Corrections custody on a 10-year sentence for a nonviolent felony.…

July 18, 2024

How Prison Guard Became the Job Everyone Leaves

Lonnie, in his late 40s, was a high school teacher for 20 years before he came to prison. He and…

June 4, 2024

Watching the Trump Trials in Prison, With Con Artists Cheering Him On

Our living unit at South Central Correctional Facility in Tennessee doesn't have a communal TV, but there are TVs in…

May 15, 2024

How We Still Find Joy After Decades in Prison

After nearly 30 years in prison, I still find moments of joy and happiness. I wondered if anyone else was…

May 13, 2024

CoreCivic Manages Our Prison, and Tries Not to Manage Our Medical Care

Five years ago, abdominal pain drove James to the infirmary at South Central Correctional Facility, the Tennessee private prison where…

May 1, 2024

TN Private Prisons Quietly Transfer Us, This Time Without Saying Why

In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) opened Trousdale Turner Correctional Center—the largest of the state's 14 prisons, and…

April 17, 2024

The Private Prisons Industry Is Changing What Constitutes “Food”

Prisoners in solitary confinement are often served something called Nutraloaf. Imagine taking all the old crap from the back of…

April 4, 2024

The Recipes I Use to De-Escalate Violence in Prison

In 2015 I was transferred to West Tennessee State Penitentiary, a prison with a reputation for violence. My new cellie…

April 3, 2024

As a Prison Fills With Wheelchairs and Walkers, an Eldercare Collective Forms

From our table in the prison day room at South Central Correctional Facility in Tennessee, my friends and I can…

March 25, 2024