prisons

Harm Reduction Meets People Where They’re at, Unless They’re at a Prison

Harm reductionists on the outside often say the work happens in a legal gray area. That real harm reduction plays…

June 27, 2023

Our Prison Is Used to Mental Illness. Taking Care of Our Own Was New.

In 20 years of incarceration across four different Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) facilities, I don't remember seeing someone…

June 22, 2023

COVID Left Our Private Prison With a New Normal: “Rolling Lockdowns”

Like with so many prisons across the country, the pandemic sent Tennessee's South Central Correctional Facility (SCCF) into a state…

June 21, 2023

Prisoners Near Release Face a Choice: Not Getting Meds, or Not Going Home

[Read Part 1 of this story here] When prisoners with release dates enter the final years of their sentence, Washington…

June 20, 2023

Medical Privacy Is Still Our Right in Prison, Unless It Involves Psych Meds

Just before the pandemic hit, when my Washington Corrections Center (WCC) job assignment was Maintenance crew, I fell off a…

June 15, 2023

Making Phone Calls From Our Prison Costs Us More Than Just the Money

Thirty years ago, Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) prisoners were only allowed one 15-minute phone call per month. You made…

June 12, 2023

GA Escalation of Gang Prosecutions Boosts Gang Power in Prisons

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) has been bolstering his "tough on crime" agenda by promising that the state will prosecute…

June 7, 2023

WA Prisons Staffing Model Is Harmful. No Other States Use It. Why Keep It?

Around 30 years ago, Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) took an unusual approach to the way it allocated staff…

June 6, 2023

Allowing Vapes in Our Prison Would Be Violence Harm Reduction, Too

Washington state banned public smoking on December 8, 2005. The Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC), however, had been preparing…

May 31, 2023

How Vaping Has Surged Among Prisoners in the UK

Prisoners in the United Kingdom spent close to £8 million on nicotine vapes in the 2021-22 financial year, according to…

May 30, 2023