Don't miss our latest stories, delivered to your inbox once a week. Sign up This story is a Kite, a special category dedicated to first-person reports that rely heavily on a writer’s first-hand ...

See how incarcerated writers are breaking stereotypes and shifting the narrative by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

Information about the prison system is limited, and policy makers and voters are shaping the lives of incarcerated people without their input. We’re bringing transparency to the world of mass ...

On Sunday night, the Philadelphia Eagles routed the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans. Fans flooded Philadelphia’s city center after the win and climbed light poles — a ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. The gargantuan, set-dressed Big Mac in an ad is not the same as the downsized, barely-dressed Big Mac we actually ...

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. In 2000, I started a life sentence at New Jersey State Prison, in Trenton. Over roughly 25 years behind bars, I ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. It was the morning of April 5, 2024. I had just gotten off work and was wiping down the walls of my cell when the ...

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 ...

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. A mated pair of swallows recently built a nest outside the door of the housing unit in my Tennessee prison. The ...

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 ...