This story is a Kite, a special category dedicated to first-person reports that rely heavily on a writer’s first-hand observations and experiences. Read more about why PJP uses this category here.

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. For prisoners with an entrepreneurial spirit, one of the most basic hustles in prison is running a store. A ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. As I peer out my cell door window, I think about the violence that has surrounded me over the 22 years I have ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. From the moment I walked into the classroom, there was a buzz of conversation and energy. Although I enjoy all of ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. When I entered the Sacramento County Main Jail on Dec. 9, 2009, I marveled at the magnitude of the building and ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. It is difficult to describe the overwhelming excitement of getting mail while incarcerated. When I started this ...

A man walked slowly toward the group of guards outside the dorm building. He was wearing a red paper jumpsuit, the standard uniform for transfers. Inside the dorm, a bunch of us were gathered on our ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. June 26, 2024, was an execution day here at the Huntsville Unit in east Texas. One of the few people at my ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. As a prisoner performs a spinning jump-kick, another crouches, summoning the power of the ancients to deliver the ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. One morning, three days after my arrival at the Ventura County jail, I was escorted from my cell to a concrete ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. 6:15 a.m.: I wake up to the shrill sound of the count bell. Crawling out of bed, the first thing I do is feed ...