Tag Archives: prisoners
State of Texas: Behind Bars with a Mental Illness
In addition to sparking national outrage over police brutality and racial discrimination, Sandra Bland’s jailhouse death has also raised significant questions...Read More
State of Texas: Who We Kill
According to data collected by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, an unsurprising trend has emerged among death row inmates, the majority of whom are bla...Read More
The Moral Indefensibility of Death Row
Alex Hannaford’s cover story this month shows an alarming correlation between trauma that happens to adolescent boys, the biological damage it does to their b...Read More
Letters from Death Row: The Biology of Trauma
New studies show that trauma biologically alters the brains of young boys in ways that affect their adult behavior.
Texas executes more of its citizens—almost all of them men—than any other state. New studies show that trauma biologically alters the brains of young boys i...Read More
Letters from Death Row: Faith Behind Bars
An informal Observer survey finds complex religious beliefs among death row inmates.
Solitary confinement forces many inmates to do a lot of soul-seeking, but despite the misconceptions, not all death row inmates turn to religion for solace. In ...Read More
World’s Largest For-Profit Prison Blasted in Federal Audit
The world’s largest for-profit prison has minimal oversight, overcharged the federal government by $2.1 million, arbitrarily punishes protesting inmates and s...Read More
Letters from Death Row: Alone on the Inside
In an informal Observer survey, death row inmates describe a world of extreme isolation, where mental illness is both cause and symptom.
The Observer found that prisoners often choose a life of permanent isolation, refusing to leave their cages. It’s a catch-22: Mental illness can lead inmates ...Read More
Letters from Death Row: Books Behind Bars
As part of an in-depth project for The Texas Observer, I wanted to find out what books inmates on death row read, and what this said—if anything—about their...Read More