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Keri Blakinger is a former staff writer whose work focuses on prisons and jails. She previously covered criminal justice for the Houston Chronicle, and her work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, VICE, the New York Daily News and The New York Times. She is the organization's first formerly incarcerated reporter. Her memoir, "Corrections in Ink", comes out in June 2022. She hates the cold and is based in Texas.
Twitter @keribla
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Death Sentences June 27
This Doctor Helped Send Ramiro Gonzales to Death Row. Now He’s Changed His Mind.
Texas plans to execute Gonzales this week even though the expert witness says he isn’t a ‘threat to society.’
By and
A light-skinned Hispanic man with close-cropped hair and tattoos on his arms uses the phone at the Polunsky Unit prison facility.
Life Inside June 24
A Death Row Prisoner’s Parting Interview
Days before his scheduled execution in Texas, Ramiro Gonzales speaks on faith, legacy — and apologizing to the family of his victim, Bridget Townsend.
By
Brian Dorsey, a White man with glasses wearing a white shirt, at the Potosi Correctional Center.
Death Sentences April 3
He Faces Execution. His Lawyers May Have Earned Less Than $4 per Hour.
Some death penalty lawyers get paid the same no matter how long they work on a case. Critics say it’s a perverse incentive when a life is at stake.
By and
A Dungeons and Dragons book titled “Dungeon Master’s Guide” sits atop a pile of scattered maps and drawings. Many of the hand-drawn maps are sketched on graph paper. Some pages contain details in color, and others are drawn in black-and-white.
Feature August 31, 2023
When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row
For men awaiting execution in Texas, illicit games of Dungeons & Dragons became a lifeline.
By
Analysis March 16, 2023
5 Things We Learned About Prison Book Ban Policies
We added policies to our searchable database of banned books. Here’s what we’ve found (so far).
The Marshall Project
A grid of 9 book covers set on top of a blue background with sharp shadows: Hand Lettering & Calligraphy, Soledad Brother, Mein Kampf, 50 Shades of Grey, 48 Laws of Power, Prison Ramen, The Color Prple, Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Forgotten Realms On top, there are a few blocks of handwriting pointing to some of the books that read: "Threat to the order and security of the institution," "sexually explicit," "methods of poison"
Graphics February 23, 2023
The Books Banned in Your State’s Prisons
We asked all state systems for book policies and ban lists, then created a database for you.
By The Marshall Project
A hotdog with a tortilla, a cup of mush and a raw potato.
News January 20
‘Pig Slop’ No More? Texas Prisons Detail Plan To Improve Food
The move follows our investigation revealing meals of raw potatoes, moldy bread.
By
A line illustration shows a Black man in the center holding a contraband phone in prison. His phone is linked by a drawn line to the phone of a Black woman outside prison. Another woman besides her looks on. On the right, a man holds a pencil while studying a book and also using a contraband phone.
Feature January 19, 2023
The Many Ingenious Ways People in Prison Use (Forbidden) Cell Phones
Despite the security concerns of administrators, incarcerated people use phones to hustle, make TikToks or publicize prison conditions.
By
An illustration shows a man shouting behind the window of a prison cell, while smoke and fire billows out of it. The window forms the eyepiece of a set of blinders being worn by a prison guard. Static is shown coming out of a walkie talkie worn by the prison guard.
News January 9
After Deadly Prison Fires, Will the Texas Legislature Fund Safety Fixes?
Our investigations spotlighted rampant violations, like thousands of broken fire alarms and smoke detectors.
By
Michael Bennett reads a book at the Cheshire Correctional Institution in Connecticut, in 2010.
Feature December 21, 2022
Why Would Prisons Ban My Book? Absurdities Rule the System
Censorship kept me from finishing a college essay behind bars. Now, prisons might keep readers from my memoir.
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