As 2023 comes to a close, we at The Marshall Project hope we have served our incarcerated readers well with news and narratives relevant to their lives behind bars.
This year, The Marshall Project expanded our hyperlocal coverage by opening a second local newsroom in Jackson, Mississippi. Our first local newsroom opened in Cleveland last year, and Issue 15 of News Inside includes an Ohio-specific insert created by that team.
This issue also includes several compelling features. “What I Learned From a Year of ‘Life Inside’” offers a behind-the-scenes look at how we curate Life Inside, our series of personal essays and as-told-tos about the criminal justice system. Engagement journalist and former Marshall Project colleague Carla Canning walks readers through the process of choosing, developing and publishing these unique narratives that appear on our website and in News Inside.
You’ll also read about Mississippi, where some detained people are given lawyers for initial hearings and then left without representation for extended periods during pretrial incarceration. A new regulation aims to provide lawyers for these detainees throughout their cases.
Another feature explains how some men play Dungeons & Dragons on Texas’ death row. It captures the spirit of fantasy and camaraderie that the game fosters, even as players face the gravest circumstances.
And, of course, Issue 15 includes favorites like “The Peeps” comic, “Reader to Reader” advice column, crossword, and “Thinking Inside the Box” quiz. (You can get the entire issue by clicking the PDF.)
News Inside now reaches over 1,350 correctional facilities nationwide through tablets and print copies. We’ve even gotten issues to U.S. citizens detained in Tijuana, Mexico. As always, thank you for supporting us. We couldn’t continue producing this unique journalistic package without your help. Here’s to an informative 2024!
Table of Contents
- A Prison Medical Company Faced Lawsuits From Incarcerated People. Then It Went 'Bankrupt.'
- What Federal Judges’ Rulings Reveal About the Memphis Police Tactics
- How Some Men Play Dungeons & Dragons on Texas’ Death Row
- Mississippi Says Poor Defendants Must Always Have a Lawyer. Few Courts Are Ready to Deliver
- What I Learned From a Year of ‘Life Inside’
- Here’s How I Use My Story to Teach Incarcerated Kids That Writing Matters
- How Criminal Records Hold Back Millions of People
- What Happens When Prisoners and Guards Switch Roles
Want your loved one(s) to receive free future copies of News Inside? Fill out our registration form for individuals. For corrections staff or community members seeking bulk shipments of News Inside, please email your request to newsinside@themarshallproject.org.
