The Freedom List: Returning to Prison
"The walls sneered: 'We knew you'd be back, so we kept everything as you left it.' That terrible déjà vu began before I'd even reached the prison's chain link fences."
Stories from before, behind, and beyond the bars.
An unflinching account of one man's journey through a decade-long prison sentence and beyond. From the courtroom to confinement, Five to Twenty is an unfiltered look at America's criminal justice system and a former inmate's search for freedom and redemption.
Recent Stories
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Pink Socks: On Probation and Polygraphs
"The test isn't really about separating fact from fiction—which it can't do—but rather about frightening and intimidating the test-taker."
Past Dispatches from Prison
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Praying Mantis: Unlikely Pets Behind Bars
"For some, bug collecting is a sport much like fishing—bragging rights go to those who can snag the biggest moths. For others, bugs make for friendly cell companions."
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Newcomer: Navigating The Social Hierarchy As A New Inmate
"I made three mistakes within my first twenty-four hours of arriving in Big Spring. My first offense was pissing in the toilet. We do not do this. We do not piss in the toilet."
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Cell to Society: Two Brothers Face the Complex Reality of Post-Incarceration Life
"I've been told that leaving prison is more frightening than coming into prison. I wouldn't have believed that nine years ago."
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Anecdote: Becoming Someone's Prison Story
"I'd like to be reassured that I am not simply an anecdote to be trotted out at dinner parties, that I did something good in our relationship worth pointing to."
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Pressure Cooker: Heat and Housing Changes Ignite Prison Tensions
"The affiliated whites don't want to be near the sex offenders, the Mexicans don't want to be near the blacks, and the blacks don't want to be near each other."
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Routines: Finding Humanity Through Daily Rituals
"I thought it odd that Jack should have suggested we breakfast together. He confided that I am the only person here he can stand, quite a compliment from Jack, who unabashedly despises everyone."