Spending Christmas in prison and away from my family leaves me depressed. But, after the guys on my unit started a Secret Santa, I briefly felt a happiness that eluded me for years.
I was recently moved to a cell with a window after years without one. I never realized how much I’d taken nature for granted.
I was raised an Eagles fan. Their Super Bowl win reminded me of painful lessons my father and his father gave me.
NY suspended key HALT Act provisions after a CO strike, sparking backlash from activists who say it harms human rights and reverses progress on limiting solitary confinement.
Now serving 45 years, Christopher Blackwell reflects on his path from troubled youth to journalist, mentor, and prison reform advocate, finding healing and purpose through prison’s “heal circle.”
The article critiques “Scared Straight” programs for their ineffectiveness and highlights how incarcerated individuals can positively mentor at-risk youth by sharing relatable experiences and offering guidance.
Incarcerated journalist Christopher Blackwell speaks with Val and Hedge about reporting from prison, tech barriers, dehumanization, and the importance of building community inside and out.
Strip searches serve as weapons of humiliation rather than security measures.
In a Washington county jail, solitary confinement is the worst, most degrading, foulest experience you could ever imagine.
New book looks back at the history of the controversial prison practice while pushing for its dismantling
Even prison walls can’t keep people from two very different backgrounds from bonding over their Birds
How I found my voice as a storyteller while incarcerated and now help others become prison journalists
While the planet continues to warm, conditions in prisons, and specifically in solitary confinement, continue to worsen
Christopher Blackwell’s new book ‘Ending Isolation’ tackles the cruel practice employed against incarcerated people in prisons across the country.
The authors of a new book on solitary answer your questions about their experiences with isolation and the movement to end the tortuous practice.
