Film
The Wrongful Murder Conviction That Ignited a Pan-Asian Activist Movement
Arriving amid increased anti-Asian racism and continuing discourse about the inhumanity of its prison system, this documentary is a strong historical gut punch.
prison system
Interview
‘You Should Feel Disturbed’ — Talking to the Directors of Attica
In the wake of the film’s nomination for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry speak to Hyperallergic about the uprising’s ongoing relevance.
Film
The Ugly History of Forced Sterilizations in Women's Prisons
The new documentary Belly of the Beast is an investigation into modern-day eugenics in the US.
News
A Florida Prisoner Made a Full Documentary on a Secret Cell Phone
The Miami Herald has obtained extensive, disturbing footage of daily life inside a Florida prison, all captured by inmate Scott Whitney over four years.
In Brief
Governor Tosses Rule Radically Limiting Books in New York State Prisons
The new directive would not only have drastically restricted the number of books available to inmates, but also prohibited them from receiving warm clothes like hoodies and any fresh produce.
News
New Rules Would Dramatically Limit Books In New York State Prisons
Under a new policy, prisoner access to books, warm clothing, and healthy food (among other things) will be severely restricted.
Art
A Wrongfully Incarcerated Artist Discusses Prison at the Brooklyn Public Library
From May 23 to 25, Sherrill Roland will be on-site, hoping to facilitate more open dialogues about the US criminal justice system.
Art
What Role Can Artists Play in Prison Reform?
When I walked into the Greene Space for Creative Capital’s first Creative Conversations event — focused on artists who make work about criminal justice and the prison system — I felt a little skeptical.
Art
Incarcerated Artists Draw Portraits of America's Corporate Criminals
Some of the portraits seem fit for the walls of a boardroom; others, the display tables of sketch artists on a boardwalk.
Art
Two Decades of Life in Prison Drilled into Ostrich Eggs
Beginning in his early twenties, Gil Batle spent two decades in and out of five California prisons, mostly for fraud and forgery of documents from IDs to checks and credit cards.
Art
A Maze in Philadelphia Focuses Attention on the Hidden Cruelty of US Prisons
The US prison system is one of the world's great shames.
Art
Death Row Inmates Imagine Their Own Memorials
From a certain angle, the premise seems almost cruel: invite prisoners on death row to design their own memorials — ways for them to be remembered after they've been executed.