Jeremy's Writing

Incarcerated Journalist Calls Out 'Relentless' Retaliation by Prison Officials

I sat at a table with the senior warden of my prison. He was livid that I had written a disturbing essay for The Marshall Project about mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement. He threatened to fire me from the prison newspaper staff, with bogus disciplinary cases, as well as to force a prison transfer.

Lockdown is only making prisons' problems worse

On Sept. 6, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) initiated a statewide lockdown of all its prison facilities. The department cited a rise in violence that prison officials associate with an increase in illegal drug activities, and began a comprehensive search for contraband. 

How Standing My Ground Earned Me 75 Years in Prison

Many people remember the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law, passed in Florida in 2005, that allowed George Zimmerman to walk free after he stalked and killed Trayvon Martin. That law permits a person to use deadly force if they “reasonably believe physical or deadly force was necessary to protect him or herself.”

The Death Chamber Next Door

Serving a prison sentence is difficult in and of itself. The deplorable living conditions, the separation from loved ones, the brutality—you know about all of this.

But do you know what it’s like to serve your time at a prison where executions are occurring? That was my reality when I was incarcerated at the Huntsville Unit, where the state of Texas housed the busiest death chamber in the country.