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It's The Wait That Gets You
By Nascomento Blair“On the count.”Thade rolled out of bed. He quickly pulled the blankets off his body and reached for his shorts. The other inmates were already up, inside the cubes and some standing...
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I’m Here for You
An original short play written by Larry N. StrombergOn the stage is Old Louey. Old Louey is 85 years-old; he is bald, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and facing progressive loss of mental...
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A Real Life
By Terry Daniel McDonaldOver the years I’ve gotten into many debates, not because I am particularly good at winning arguments, but rather as a way to pass the time. To challenge what I perceived as...
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Night in Jail
By Wesley I. Purkey“It is just as well that justice is blind; she might not like some of thethings done in her name if she could see them”Not long after turning 18 in 1970, I was booked into the...
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Pros and Cons
By Wendell GrissomNote: This content is being shared with permission from personal correspondenceHello, how are you? Well I hope. Been awhile since I last wrote so I figured I’d touch base with...
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It's The Wait That Gets You Part II
By Nascimento BlairTo read part one, click hereThe hospital gate buzzed opened and Thade walked through. The day was colder than ever and this nervousness was taking its toll on his mind. What was he...
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For My Brother
By Anthony EhlersMy cellie’s name was James Scott. He was a good person. He was always smiling, and always laughing and making others laugh too. Most people smiled automatically when they saw him...
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Months Before Six - Part Five
To read Part Four click hereJohn Gardner: January 15th, 2020“What?” asked a bewildered sounding Tracy Beatty when he heard that John Gardner, known to friends as "Steve," was scheduled to be executed...
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A Riot in the Time of the Coronavirus
By Steve BartholomewWhen we first began hearing reports on the news about the coronavirus, no one in here took it seriously. I certainly did not. Why would I? SARS, MERS, H1N1, all these have...
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Staying Safe: How to Stave Off Incarceration's Concomitant Madness
By Tomas Keen1. Wake up at six thirty to the steady metallic beep of your sports watch. Seriously; wake up. Do not simply reset the reminder for another half hour or, even more enticing, shut it off...
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Knowing Bill
By Erin GeorgeI used to think that I knew my father pretty well. After all, we lived together for over two decades, and had seen each other at our best, and our worst. In many ways, I used to consider...
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End in Sight
By Wesley I. Purkey"There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it will behold any one of us; to find fault with the rest of us." - James Truslow AdamsOn the...
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Voice of the Unheard
By Terrell CarterFor centuries, we, the descendants of kidnapped and enslaved Africans, have existed in a simmering cauldron of poverty, inequality, and discrimination. Whether it be housing,...
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A Clash of Values
By Timothy PauleyI came to prison in a different era. Everyone was screwed at the first place I was sent. Not literally, of course, but screwed in that none of us had any consideration coming from the...
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A Little More Gray
By Isaac SweetA few years back, I was affirmed by my peers at the Washington State Reformatory to serve as a mentor in the prison's pilot mentoring program, Men Facilitating Change (MFC). We are a...
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Finding Solace In Separation
By Terry Daniel McDonaldSolitude means being aloof from the influence of society. It may be practiced alone or in company, just as emotional dependency can be practiced alone or in company. One who is...
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Delusion of Reprieve
By Z.A. SmithSince the first day of the Missouri 2020 Legislative Session, offenders have been spreading a rumor about a law being passed for life without offenders called “The Hard Thirty,” saying...
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It's The Wait That Gets You Part III
By Nascimento BlairTo read Part II click here“On the count!” Thade rolled out of bed again. It was Wednesday and he was hoping it would be a more eventful day than the one which had passed. He stood at...
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Social Distancing in the Age of Social Illiteracy
By Timothy Pauley"My bad." This is a term currently in vogue. It is a way to indicate one has transgressed, but without expressing any remorse for said transgression. This is similar in many ways to...
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Lucky Day
By Leon CarpenterSegregation is fucked up! No question about it. I am forever damaged from all the years I was left in that madness. One morning while wasting away in segregation I was watching the...
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