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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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Explore Our Voices

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 of chain link fence, surveillance camera and barbed wire fence

Dispatches from Inside

Reports on prison conditions

Sexual Abuse Doesn't Just Happen to Women
Medical Malpractice in Prison: Where is the 'Care'?
See More
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Reform Debate

Perspectives on social reform

The Past, Present and Future of Black Resistance Inside Prison, and Out: A Dialogue
Don’t Let the Same, Old Black Criminalization Seep Back into Politics
See More
close-up of dark-skinned hands with fingers on chain link fence
yellow duotone photo of prison cell from outside

We Are DC

Personal stories from incarcerated DC residents

Waiting for a Second Chance
Legacy of a ‘Thug Life’: Innocent, but in Prison, Separated from My Son
See More

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Voices by topic

Dig into the Issues