For most of us, life has returned to normal despite COVID. That’s not true in prison — By Pam Bailey Out here “in the world,” as incarcerated individuals refer to us, COVID is still real, but we have largely returned to normal social interactions. Even in the highest-risk settings, such as long-term-care facilities and schools, COVID restrictions have largely eased: Children are back to full schedules of…

Everyone can change for the better, if they desire it and we allow them — By Robert Barton “I believe in redemption personally and politically; it is the basis of my religious belief.” Sen. Richard Durbin, at the first oversight hearing for the new director of the federal Bureau of Prisons, Colette Peters I recently read a book titled, “A Happy Pocket Full of Money”…

What happens when a person is oppressed twice over? — By Pam Bailey Long before I started More Than Our Crimes, I lived in the Gaza Strip for three years and founded a storytelling initiative called We Are Not Numbers. The Palestinian youth of Gaza are among the most stereotyped and misunderstood individuals in the world, often referred to with numbers — of…

It may seem petty, but for us it’s what makes life inside tolerable — By Jeremy Fontanez, serving a sentence of life without parole We prisoners segregate ourselves according to race, religion, geography and other associations. The most common form of segregation is racial. Blacks group with Backs. Hispanics hang with Hispanics. Whites ally with Whites. And our communal televisions in the housing units are regulated according to these divisions.

A letter to the new federal BOP head, from one of her prisons — By Rob Barton Congratulations on your appointment as director of the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). I have been intensely following the changing of the guard at the top of the agency, and I genuinely wish you success. After all, the person who holds this position has a huge effect on my life. …

Imagine living in our environment before you judge — By Robert Barton “If I leave here, I will leave nothing behind. They’ll never count me among the broken men. But I can’t say I am normal either. I have been hungry too long. I have gotten angry too often. I have been lied to and insulted too many times.” …

Race and gangs have become a toxic combo in the feds — By Askia A. Afrika-Ber “Research on Rhode Island guards in 1972 found that their potential for violence was slightly higher than that of inmates. The officer group actually had the potential for even more unexplained lashing out than did the inmates. Rather than being peacekeepers, the guards were as likely as inmates to engage…

It’s a question I get all the time, and it’s hard to answer — By Stanley Scott Throughout my incarceration, I’ve heard this statement so many times: “Boy, I don’t know how you guys do all that time…I’d go crazy.” My reply is always something like, …”I don’t know. We just do it…” Because honestly, there is no real answer to that. But what I’ve come to…

This West Virginia prison generates some of the most outspoken protests — an act of bravery, since officers are known for retaliation — More Than Our Crimes has compiled stories from throughout the federal Bureau of Prisons to bring to life the neglect and abuse that are rife throughout the gulag of 122 institutions. One of the prisons that generates the most outspoken protest — an act of bravery when officers are known…