"Prison isn’t supposed to be about love, but that’s what Fluffy brought to our concrete world. She became our shared daughter, passed from cell to cell in that mesh bag whenever the heat got too heavy or her various caretakers had legal visits or medical appointments."

We launched our end-of-year campaign nine days ago. Each year, we host a spring campaign and an end-of-year campaign to support our work. Your support helps us train incarcerated writers and edit, publish and amplify their stories to the world. Can you become a one-time or monthly donor?

New York Plan Would Require Yearly Prison Visits by Judges. Story via @thecity.nyc.

As a teacher’s assistant, I receive paltry pay, zero workplace protections and punishment for refusing work.

“I enjoy my visits with my son. He is 11 and needs to know I am safe and it’s safe to come visit me. TV only shows prison rape and violence. I don’t want him to think I am being hurt here.”

''Prison journalism should not be illegal. It should not be starved, stifled, or silenced ... laws need to change." Read @inquest.bsky.social's article featuring Jeremy's account of how his own journalism, and that of outside reporters wanting to tell his story, is stifled by prison authorities.

"I had not touched a cat in 15 years when an orange kitten wandered over to sit with me in the grass one day. I was left without adequate words to describe that experience. It reminded me that I am alive."

"Some people might also want to be detached from what happens in prison; they don’t want to feel the pain or embarrassment of having a loved one behind bars."

Punished for... having a period? Yes, you read that right – behind bars, menstruation is treated like misconduct. Here's how prisons punish people for a bodily function they have no control over 🧵

"Prison reminds me of a pawn shop. When you go into a pawn shop, you have an idea of an item’s value, or what you’d like it to be worth."

New York Plan Would Require Yearly Prison Visits by Judges. Story via @thecity.nyc.

BREAKING: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt stops the scheduled execution of Tremane Wood today, commuting his sentence to life without parole. In doing so, Stitt accepted the recommendation of the Pardon and Parole Board. This is Stitt’s second death-sentence commutation as governor.

As a teacher’s assistant, I receive paltry pay, zero workplace protections and punishment for refusing work.

We launched our end-of-year campaign nine days ago. Each year, we host a spring campaign and an end-of-year campaign to support our work. Your support helps us train incarcerated writers and edit, publish and amplify their stories to the world. Can you become a one-time or monthly donor?

📚 PJP writers recommend books they think every student in America should read.

San Quentin Film Festival returned last month. What did it take to pull it off the first time?

"From 1996 to 2018, the state prison system did not allow incarcerated individuals to take photos. The only pictures taken of us were yearly prison ID photos — mug shots placed on the state prison system website."

"Together, they helped turn raw experience into meaningful, responsible and ethical journalism," says Tariq. Prison Journalism Project relies on donations from readers like you to make sure writers like Tariq can continue to be heard. Can you support our work?

“I enjoy my visits with my son. He is 11 and needs to know I am safe and it’s safe to come visit me. TV only shows prison rape and violence. I don’t want him to think I am being hurt here.”

The Progressive Scandinavian Prison Model Comes to an Idaho Prison.

"My journey with Prison Journalism Project began at the very beginning when PJP itself was just an idea, a spark. I was one of the first writers," writes Tariq Tariq MaQbool in today's email.

Some states keep adding beds in already troubled facilities, while others are trying alternative approaches to detention or keeping some children out of the system altogether.

"My journey with Prison Journalism Project began at the very beginning when PJP itself was just an idea, a spark. I was one of the first writers," writes Tariq Tariq MaQbool in today's email.

"Prison isn’t supposed to be about love, but that’s what Fluffy brought to our concrete world. She became our shared daughter, passed from cell to cell in that mesh bag whenever the heat got too heavy or her various caretakers had legal visits or medical appointments."

In most Missouri prisons, daily correspondence is limited to emails, digital mail, postal mail, telephone calls and video visits. In a recent piece, Summer Breeze spoke with six fathers on what it's like to parent from prison.

Months before his death, Ralph Marcus explained how a COVID-era leg injury led to a rare bone cancer that didn’t have to be fatal.

Today, 1 in 5 formerly incarcerated people is experiencing food insecurity. That's at least 1 million people nationwide. We should be making it easier for vulnerable people to access healthy food, not harder.

‘Humanity Supersedes Everything Else’ on Thanksgiving

"I regret and have remorse for murdering a man, but I also use this unfortunate identity — murderer — as a literary tool. I'm able to ... put myself beneath [the people I'm writing about] by telling the reader about my own terrible transgressions, often explaining that I'm as bad or worse."

It can take an incarcerated person weeks of strenuous work to afford even just a stick of deodorant. Story via @vera.org.

"I never smiled on my [prison] ID pic, but I'm gonna smile in this pic ... It's for my kids."

"Blue Mountain Humane Society, a local animal shelter, brought in dogs for us to train and foster for six to eight weeks. ... A resident artist has painted portraits of the dogs, which are displayed on the 'Dog Wall of Fame' at our unit's entrance."

The Art and Science — and Joy — of Growing Flowers in Prison

"The prison unit I live in is not like most around the country, or even most in my state of Washington." Read more about Jeff's unit, which is home to video games, plants and dogs and is modeled off Norway's progressive prison system ⤵️

I never imagined that I would help others adjust to prison. But over the decade since I landed here, I became part of my prison system’s welcoming crew. I pull people from their cells for fresh coffee and orientation, where I introduce myself and share ways they can spend their time in prison.

"There is not an athletic enough verb, a highly animated enough punctuation mark, or clever enough prose to accurately describe the impact of stories written from behind the razor wire." – PJP Contributor

Formerly incarcerated Atlantans help the city's unhoused residents find a way off the street. Story via CBS News.

‘Humanity Supersedes Everything Else’ on Thanksgiving

Oof. Read this.

The Art and Science — and Joy — of Growing Flowers in Prison

Despite the fact that the birds could go anywhere else to flock and feed, they always came to us.

In 2021, a few guys in his cellblock invited Jeshua to make pizza with them for the Super Bowl. He was asked to buy a bag of chili, a pickle and two packages of ramen noodles. "I didn’t understand how these ingredients could make a pizza, but I was game."

" ... Since my brother was deported, I have been terrified. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, tapping the side of my bunk to check if I’m still in my prison bed."

Check out PJP's favorite stories of 2024 ⤵️

You can be part of our winning team by making a small, monthly donation to support @thexylom.com's coverage of global health and environmental disparities: Your donation will be matched 36x thanks to a coalition of funders that *have* stepped up! fundrazr.com/sustain-the-...

Nearly a million incarcerated people depend on rural hospitals for care – but now, thanks to Trump's 'big beautiful bill,' many of those hospitals are at risk of closing This will devastate entire communities, including people behind bars More here👇

I'm back! I was away for the week at a conference for families impacted by incarceration. On Monday, we launched our end-of-year fundraising campaign. We're about 4% of the way there, with more than a month to go.

Check out PJP's favorite stories of 2024 ⤵️

" ... Since my brother was deported, I have been terrified. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, tapping the side of my bunk to check if I’m still in my prison bed."