prisons

GA Prisoners Tortured in the Showers, as DOJ Ponders Whether It’s Safe Here

On February 27, two men were held down in the shower room of a Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) prison…

April 8, 2024

If Suicidal Prisoners Should “Ask for Help,” Stop Taking Away Our Phones

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline posters showed up around 2018, when the outside world began to notice the uptick in…

March 26, 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

Georgia Senate to Study Prisons, Just in Case the Problem Isn’t Cell Phones

The Georgia Senate has contemplated the bloodbath unfolding inside its state prisons and concluded that “a study would be beneficial.”…

March 20, 2024

A Wealth of Tobacco in Prison, and a Dearth of Ways We Can Smoke It

Within Georgia Department of Corrections facilities, the contraband tobacco industry is robust enough to support a cottage industry for rolling papers.…

March 13, 2024

A Prison Drug Recovery Unit Provides Refuge, If You’re Abstinent

At South Central Correctional Facility (SCCF), a Tennessee prison privately operated by CoreCivic, those of us in general population are…

March 6, 2024

The Imaginary Points We Earn in Prison, to Get Imaginary Parole

Unless they’re serving life, most parole hopefuls in Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) custody become statutorily eligible for release after…

February 28, 2024

A Life and Death Sentence at Walla Walla, Recounted 50 Years Later

[Read Part 1 of this story here] For a few months in 2019, Don Snook, 71, was transferred to Washington…

February 20, 2024

As Parole Hopes Fade, Older Prisoners Struggle to Guide the Young

For a long time, corrections departments around the country maintained order—relatively speaking—through the informal system of old prisoners showing new…

February 2, 2024

Prison Routines Have Fallen Apart, Leaving Old-Timers Adrift

Wesley*, 51, has been incarcerated in Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) prisons for more than half his life. Every morning…

January 25, 2024