Crime, Reform & Abolition

562 posts

Michigan prison officials withhold evidence of retaliation against an incarcerated writer

“The eggshells I’m walking on turn into glass,” wrote Demetrius Buckley in a piece for Prism published in August. “I have to hold my tongue to keep from yelling.”  Buckley is incarcerated in Michigan’s Richard Handlon Correctional Facility, where he detailed how officers often abuse their power by

•
4 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

10 years post-Ferguson, advocates seek prosecutor accountability

A coalition of racial justice advocacy groups in St. Louis has quietly issued the first in a series of “Prosecutor Watch” reports on the role and powers of the prosecutor and its function in the local criminal legal system. Prosecutors, the coalition contends, have staggering authority to enact violence on

•
4 Min
By: Frances Madeson

Groups focused on ending gender-based violence are building new worlds outside of the carceral system

When Jinat Talukder immigrated to the U.S., she lost her independence. The freedom she enjoyed as a woman in Bangladesh became a distant memory as she was forced to adhere to her husband’s expectations.  “After getting married, I was told things I had never heard before,” Talukder said

•
10 Min
By: Rebecca Chowdhury

Collectives in the South help lead the charge to #FreeBlackMamas for Mother’s Day

Yolanda Johnson was detained in 2020 on a $20,000 bond, an extraordinary amount of money that left her with no sense of how or when she would be able to secure her freedom. She spent four months in Jefferson County Jail awaiting news on her court date until she

•
8 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

Philadelphia city plan may force houseless people to choose jail or treatment

The city of Philadelphia has released a 100-day Public Safety Plan with a section focused on cleaning up the “open-air drug market” in the city’s Kensington neighborhood. The release follows recent reports that the city’s jails are violent and understaffed, leading criminal legal advocates to call for a

•
4 Min
By: Sterling Johnson

The violence of food apartheid in Philadelphia

What does it mean for Black communities when 66% of the city’s food retailers are corner stores?

•
8 Min
By: Farwa Zaidi

As an incarcerated person, I feel connected to the people of Gaza

The violence against oppressed people in both Gaza and U.S. prisons is a direct result of imperialism and the brutal policing

•
5 Min
By: Carla J. Simmons

Protest organizers face legal risks after SCOTUS declined to hear liability case

The court’s decision not to hear McKesson v. Doe upholds a lower ruling that makes protest organizers liable for the actions of individual participants

•
3 Min
By: Aisha Malik

EXCLUSIVE: PEN America is both a lifeline and a ‘wasted opportunity’ for some incarcerated writers  

PEN’s decades-old prison programming lacks the organization and infrastructure to effectively communicate with and pay incarcerated writers

•
18 Min
By: Tamar Sarai

Why isn’t PEN America paying its incarcerated literary prize winners?

It started with a tweet. “I won the @PENamerica Prison Writing Contest in 2022 and never received the $250 prize, even after much back and forth via email, which continues to this day. I know of at least one other first place winner who never received their prize money, either,

•
6 Min
By: Alex Tretbar, Natalye Childress

Never eat the candy on your pillow: Circle of trust

Dear Reader, “To be or not to be?” Hamlet famously asked this question in the play by the same name written by William Shakespeare. I first encountered the life-changing power of Hamlet when I signed up for a prison playwright’s circle called Voices Inside, created by Curt Tofteland and

•
5 Min
By: Derek R. Trumbo, Sr.

Cooking in prison is a way to feel free

When far from home, what food reminds you of love or comfort? For me, it’s chicken and dumplings—something that’s hard to come by here in the Northpoint Training Center, where I have been incarcerated for nearly two decades.  Like most civilized folks, we adhere to traditions on

•
6 Min
By: William Daniels

Showing 12 of 562 total posts

Sign up for Prism newsletters.

Stay up to date with curated collection of our top stories.

Please check your inbox and confirm. Something went wrong. Please try again.