The Letters From Prison Project

Entry #3 – “On Respect and Social Standing” Entry #3 – “On Respect and Social Standing” Respect is the only universal currency in prison, because it is the only thing that all inmates have equal access to.  While some inmates will always be …

Our third entry "On Respect and Social Standing," explores the role that interpersonal respect plays in personal relationships and social hierarchies in prisons. You can read it at: bit.ly/4jNcJC6

Entry #2 – “On Emasculation” Entry #2 – “On Prison Economies” I believe that we tend to think of jails and prisons as very masculine places, as “every man for himself,” rough and tumble, violent, and dangerous nooks away from …

Our second post, "On Emasculation," explores the ways in which prisons emasculate mail inmates, their resulting behaviors, and how this emasculation may affect their lives after prison. You can read it at: lettersfromprison.net/2025/04/13/e...

Entry #1 – “On Prison Economies” Entry #1 – “On Prison Economies” Prisons and jails have highly active internal economies that function without official currency, instead relying on bartering, in-kind trade, and favors.  The dolla…

Our first entry, "On Prison Economies," lays out the basics of how economies work inside prison and reflects on what the nature and existence of prison economies says about life in prison and incarcerated individuals. Read it at lettersfromprison.net/2025/03/31/h...

Letters From Prison Insider Views on America's Carceral System

The Letters from Prison Project is a new blog that offers candid and honest insider views of America's carceral institutions. You can find us at lettersfromprison.net