Prison Journalism Project
How One Lifer Went From Being ‘Absolutely Ruthless’ to Nice as Hell
One Woman’s Tormented Path to Prison
On Working Behind Bars
Here’s What a Typical Day Looks Like in My Prison
What a Monthly Budget Looks Like in Prison
Programming at My Prison Was Overwhelmingly Religious. I Tried to Change That.
How I Found a Chosen Family In Prison
Why Every Prison Needs a Garden
My First Foray Into Restorative Justice
The Case for More Conjugal and Extended-Stay Visits in Prison
A Day in My Cell: ‘The Little Things’ I Enjoy in Solitary Confinement
James ‘Buck’ Martin Suffered Severe Pain, Then Died. Did His Prison Do Enough to Help?
The Man Who Shunned a Gang for Poetry and Service
Coping with Family Medical Crises From a Prison Cell
He Was in a Cult Classic Film But Learning to Read in Prison Is His Proudest Achievement
Why Can’t I Get a Clean Food Tray at this Texas Prison?
The Top Pet in This Prison Is a Special Kind of Spider
Why Prisons Should Let Trans Women Dress the Way They Want
Trans Women React to Missouri’s Hormone Therapy Ban in Prisons
What It’s Like In Prison Just Miles Away From Washington State’s Destructive Fires
I Advocated for a Return of My Prison’s Recreation Programs. Then I Was Transferred.
How One Woman’s Grandson Inspired Her to Get a College Degree in Prison
The Negative Effects of Dehumanizing Language in Prison
Watching My Niece Grow Up in a Prison Visiting Room
Q&A: PJP Interviews a Leader of the Prison Journalism Renaissance
Who’s the Best Vendor for California Prisons?
Surviving Suicide Watch in a Missouri Prison
In New Jersey, Prison Staff Shortages Hurt All of Us
Q&A: Landmark Ruling in Pennsylvania Could Lead to Hundreds Being Resentenced
Is Dreaming in Prison Good For Me?
People in Prison Saw My Wheelchair Before They Saw Me
In Prison, If We Didn’t Teach Each Other, No One Would
How South Carolina Prisons Are Limiting Access to Books
In California Prisons, Push Notifications Are Small Red Paper Slips
Lives ‘Worthy of a Narrative’
Q&A: I Sat Down With a Correctional Lieutenant To Discuss the California Model
In Pennsylvania, Lifers Could Have a New Shot at Freedom
How One Veteran Survives PTSD in Prison
An Unexpected Bird Delivered a Spark of Gentleness to This Prison Block
Incarcerated Americans on the 250th Birthday of the United States — In Their Own Voices
The New Jersey Prison That Fought Lockdowns — With More Lockdowns
Q&A: Here’s What Pride Was Like in a California Prison
Did Prison Cure My Brain Rot
For Some, It’s Easier to Stay in Prison Than Leave
How to Meditate in Prison
The ‘Merlinian’ Appeal of Magic: The Gathering in Prison
San Quentin Tests Mediation as a Tool for Conflict in Prison
How a Cat Program Brought Joy to a South Carolina Prison
Meet Nova, an AI Assistant for Incarcerated People
How One Juvenile Lifer Found Islam and Transformation in Prison
This State Prison System Is Failing to Meet Women’s Needs
What the Job of a Reentry Navigator Is Like
Q&A: New York Knicks Dream Finals Run Captivates People in Prison
How One Man Fights and Writes for His Freedom From Prison
The Prison Hustlers Who Sell Fancy Items
Meet the Program Teaching Incarcerated People How to Code
A Prison Restorative Justice Group Taught Him to Heal, Not Harm
He Took a Plea to Avoid Execution. Now He Teaches Leadership Behind Bars.
In Solitary, the Most Incredible — and Most Unlikely — of Conversations
Our Money Is Disappearing Inside ViaPath’s Prison Tablets
She Dropped Out of High School. In Prison, She Taught Herself Calculus.
Sentenced to Life at 19, He Now Preaches Inside a Michigan Prison
A Q&A With a Former Resident of Florida’s Death Row
What Former Death Row Residents Think About Executions
Should an 18-Year-Old Be a Guard at a Maximum Security Prison?
New Pennsylvania Prison Policy Limits Toilet Flushes
How One Man Runs a Legal Nonprofit in Prison
Has Real Change Finally Come for California’s LWOP Community?
Rules Are Rules: My Experience as a Prison Soccer Referee
They Thought They Were Leaving Prison Early. Then They Weren’t.
After Losing Two Sons, a Mother’s Painful Path Toward Happiness
Why I Felt Inspired to Paint a Scene From National Geographic Magazine
7 Stories on Being a Journalist in Prison
There Are No Real Mirrors in Prison
My Prison Doesn’t Have Heat Protocols
Society for Professional Journalists and Prison Journalism Project Announce Winners of Third Annual Stillwater Prison Journalism Awards
PJP Writers on Their Award-Winning Stories About Life Behind Bars
There’s No Relief From Summer Heat in This Federal Prison
The Magic of Having a Glass Mirror in Prison
A Book Examines Myths and Stereotypes About Women’s Violence
Why I Make Burial Urns From Prison for Veterans
Zen and the Art of a Prison Routine
In Prison, We Have Less Medical Privacy
How One Man Earned a Ph.D. in Prison
‘Sometimes I Feel Like I’m in Prison More Than He Is’
My Use of a Metaphor Landed Me in Solitary
How Prison Makes Death Routine
Idaho’s New Firing Squad Prepares to Fire
Was Football the Reason for This Prison’s Lockdowns?
Prisons Rely on Us Working Jobs. So Why Aren’t We Trained for Them?
When Is the Right Time to Close a Prison?
The Day I Fed a Bird in Prison
Parole Has Almost Vanished From South Carolina Prisons
Society of Professional Journalists and PJP Launch Third Annual Stillwater Prison Journalism Awards
The Bittersweet Nature of a Prison Visit
Rising Fuel Prices Are Affecting People in Prison, Too
‘Something More About the Place’: Observations on Prison Life
Experiencing a Blizzard in Prison
The Prison Shower So Cold I Thought I Felt Ice
Why My Hair Suddenly Started to Matter When I Entered Prison
Could Body Cameras Prevent Prison Abuse?
It Stinks Being Stuck in a Prison Job
The Cells Inside ‘One of the Most Archaic Prisons in the United States’
At This Prison, Staffing Fluctuations Land Hardest on Lifers
Hear From One of the Men Behind an Oscar-Nominated Prison Documentary
‘The Alabama Solution’: Prison Documentary in the Running for Oscar
Bullies and Conmen: The Predators Who Target Gay Men in Prison
Language Lipstick: What Person-Centered Language in Prison Hides
Why I Cry in Prison
Training Service Dogs in Prison ‘Hurts With a Purpose’
Suicide Hotline Now Available in Washington State Prisons
Before My Time in Hospice, I Never Considered Dying Alone
Morning Routines and Other Strategies for Finding Peace in Prison
Q&A: Kwaneta Harris on the Black History That Shaped Her
Memories From the Prison Cell, After Three Decades Inside
Dinner With a Murderer
ICE Arrests Have Made My Dad Scared to Visit Me in Prison
I Discovered This Amazing Food in Prison
PJP Writers on the Black History That Inspires Them
5 Tips to Declutter Your Prison Cell and Improve Your Life
Prison Journalism Project Launches “Cancer in Confinement” Series Exposing Deadly Toll of Cancer in U.S. Prisons
Cancer in Confinement
‘This Place Is Love’: A Prison Unit for the Dying — in Pictures
An Incarcerated Vet Struggles Against a Rare Form of Cancer
I Took Care of My Friend While Cancer Took Over His Body
An Agonizing Road to a Cancer Diagnosis In Prison
To Overcome Addiction in Prison, We Embraced It
The ‘California Model’ Offers Lifers Hope, Motivation
My Long, Smelly California Prison Transfer
Why a Gulf War Veteran Who Committed a Horrific Crime Deserved a Second Chance
A Writer Gives Helpful Advice For Someone Entering Prison
Will Texas Prisons’ New Collective Lockdown Policy Increase Violence?
How I Got My High School Diploma in Prison
Prison Journalism Project Marks Five Years of Transforming Incarcerated Journalism with Release of 2025 Impact Report
How Jobs Work In Pennsylvania Prisons
How Prisons ‘Clean Up’ and Profit From Hunger
I Walked Into Prison. But I Left in a Wheelchair.
In a Texas Prison, People Fantasize About Getting Money From Trump
The Best Way to Help People in Idaho Prisons? Give Them Work
An About-Face on Phone Call Prices in Missouri Prisons
At This Alabama Prison, A Grandfather and Grandson Do Time Together
What It’s Like Raising Puppies to Be Service Dogs in Prison
Tennessee’s First Prison Pay Raise in at Least 33 Years Isn’t Enough
How Tablet Phone Calls Are Reshaping Life in Prison
The First Days of a Decade-Long Sentence in China
When Arizona Banned Cigarettes in Its Prisons, Bartering Went Berserk
At a New Mexico Prison, a Much-Needed Resource For Lifers Comes to Life
All He Wanted Was to Pet That Good Doggy
Prison Mail Rules Are Changing to Prevent Drugs. Has it Worked?
What Are the Holidays Like Behind Bars?
The Night I Ate Wagyu Steak in Prison
Inflation Doesn’t Stop at the Prison Gates
Meet Tony, the Bird Protector of a Texas Prison
Two Prisons, Two Unbearable Kinds of Heat
This Prison Is Built on Compassion and Respect
PJP’s Favorite Stories of 2025
Prison Lockdowns Increase Risk of Violence
How I Learned to Transcribe Braille in Prison
A Slice of Idaho Prison Life — in Drawings
What Happened When I Filed a Sexual Abuse Claim in Prison
He’s Been in Prison for 33 Years, but Exercise Frees His Mind
Why Older People Worry About Leaving Prison
After 10 Years, a Visit With My Mother and Son in a Texas Prison
The Best Job in This New Jersey Prison Is Still Exploitative
Prison Is Like a Pawn Shop
This Cat Brought Love to A Concrete World
Six Fathers on What It’s Like to Parent From Prison
The Value of Mentors in Prison
Cooking Pizza in Prison Requires Creativity
The Surprising Power of Getting Your Picture Taken in Prison
At San Quentin Prison, a Huge Milestone for Incarcerated Youth
The Last Words of a Man Who Died in Prison From a Treatable Cancer
In Between Prison Fences, Dogs Get a Second Chance at Life
The Real Jailbirds
Mourning the Man Most Responsible for My Freedom
How to Leave Prison and Know You Belong Back Home
Without Modern Tech, Incarcerated Journalism Students Face Obstacles
The Cat Who Helped Women at a Michigan Prison
Anatomy of a Prison Film Festival
In Prison, Raccoons and Birds and Mice, Oh My!
The Day I Met a Bunny in Prison
In Prison, Drawing Helped Me Heal After My Dad’s Car Crash
My First Jail Visit to My Brother Came on His 21st Birthday
Living and Dying in Prison
In One Alabama Prison, the Dead Are Honored Through an ‘Outmate’ Memorial Service
Lockdowns Occur Far Too Often in This Federal Prison
A Prison Fund Is Supposed to Benefit Incarcerated People in Idaho. Has That Changed?
The Most Coveted Job in the Michigan Prison System
I Don’t Pay Tuition in Prison, but My College Education is Not Free
A Toss of Oatmeal Draws a Feeding Frenzy at This Idaho Prison
Our Monthly Prison Cable Bill Just Rose by $5. Many Can’t Afford It.
Oregon Promises Better Prison Health Care. Here’s Why Some Are Skeptical.
To Avoid Deportation, People Want to Stay Longer at My Prison
100 Incarcerated People Weigh in on Prison Food Vendors
What It’s Like to Have Your Period in Prison
Don’t Speak English? Good Luck Navigating America’s Legal System
In Pennsylvania, We Can Do Better Than Caging Kids
The Most Desired (and Most Elusive) Fashion Item in Prison