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Cell Phones

A Black man in an orange prison uniform steps out of a human-sized iPhone, and into a desert. In the background, there is a purple and orange sunset.
Life Inside January 20
How an Illicit Cell Phone Helped Me Take College Courses from Prison
“I didn’t want to give any type of indication that I am in prison, because I didn’t want to be kicked out.”
By Anonymous as told to Charlotte West
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
Three out of five prisoners who were stabbed or beaten to death last week in Mississippi prisons were at the State Penitentiary in Parchman.
News January 8, 2020
Mississippi Prison Killings: Five Factors Behind the Deadly Violence
Understaffing, powerful gangs and constant lockdowns brew tensions that exploded last week.
By and
Kevin Johns comforts Kathy Bowling at their son Jared Johns’ grave at Cannon Memorial Park in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.
Justice Lab November 11, 2019
How Did They Run an Elaborate “Sextortion” Scam From Prison? Cellphones.
Victim’s family pushes for a high-tech crackdown—but it may not work.
By
Life Inside June 23, 2016
I Made a Rap Video in Prison
And it got a million clicks.
By Desmond Metcalf as told to
Razor, a phone-sniffing dog, poses with phones he found hidden in a box during a demonstration at the Broward Correctional Institution in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. in 2008.
Q&A June 7, 2016
The Amazing iPhone-sniffing Prison Dogs
Who knew cell phones had a smell?
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