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“We’re not violent offenders. We’re individuals who committed violent crimes. But we’re different people now.”
— Robert Barton

“We’re not violent offenders. We’re individuals who committed violent crimes. But we’re different people now.”

— Robert Barton

Everyone
deserves
a second
chance.

Everyone
deserves a
second chance.

Middle aged Black man wearing a baseball cap looking at camera with neutral expression.
Middle aged Black man with beard and baseball cap looking into distance with neutral expression.
Middle aged Black man wearing a baseball cap looking at camera with neutral expression.
Middle aged Black man with beard and baseball cap looking into distance with neutral expression.
More Than Our Crimes amplifies the voices of the nearly 200,000 Americans in federal prison — many of them people of color. While they were once convicted of serious crimes, they dream of a second chance to live freely and contribute to their families and society.
Who We Are

Report

Voices from Within the Federal Bureau of Prisons: a System Designed to Silence and Dehumanize

The conditions in federal prisons are inhumane, deprive incarcerated persons of basic human rights, do not rehabilitate and are harmful to public safety. But don’t take our word for it. Hear directly from the people inside. Then, check out our Take Action page.

Download the Report
Report cover with text Voices from Within the Federal Bureau of Prisons: a System Designed to Silence and Dehumanize Stories of endurance and a call to action
Report cover with text Voices from Within the Federal Bureau of Prisons: a System Designed to Silence and Dehumanize Stories of endurance and a call to action

Report

Voices from Within the Federal Bureau of Prisons: a System Designed to Silence and Dehumanize

The conditions in federal prisons are inhumane, deprive incarcerated persons of basic human rights, do not rehabilitate and are harmful to public safety. But don’t take our word for it. Hear directly from the people inside. Then, check out our Take Action page.

Download the Report

Documentary

This is What Redemption Looks Like

Too many Americans grow up in disadvantaged communities and are sucked into the “justice” system. In “Redemption,” we look at two such individuals and the work they are doing to demonstrate the power of second chances.

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Prisons are erected not only to confine, but to prevent those on the outside from seeing in. Few people other than those inside have a full view of how they operate. We’re out to change that.
yellow duotone photo of prison cell from outside

We Are DC

Personal stories from incarcerated DC residents

Dear Family: An Open Letter to My Supporters Over 20 Years of Incarceration
One Man's Journey to a Second Chance
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Dispatches from Inside

Reports on prison conditions

Racism in American Penitentiaries and Criminal Cover-ups
How Do I Manage to Do All This Time?
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yellow duotone of chain link fence, surveillance camera and barbed wire fence
close-up of dark-skinned hands with fingers on chain link fence

Reform Debate

Perspectives on social reform

Report: What it Will Take to Reform the Bureau of Prisons
Do You Live in a Mansion or the Woods?
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