The Prison Paper

Lane DeGregory: Outside the prison library, the women were waiting for their teacher, holding a copy of their newspaper, trying to decide what to do.

They had named the paper Time Flys. Their teacher didn’t correct the spelling.

They had spent a month reporting and writing, collecting photos and quotes and jailhouse recipes. Inmate #071 had two-finger typed six long pages. Finally, the October issue was ready.

They had planned to pass it out during writing class. They had told their bunkies they would bring back copies. Promised their kids they would mail some home.

But now the guards were saying they couldn’t distribute it. The officers didn’t want their names in the inmates’ paper — even if the article was a “shout-out” to those who had helped. And the warden deemed another article “too racy.”

After five issues, the inmates were being censored. They were angry, upset and confused.

“What if we just take out all the officers’ names?” asked one reporter.

“We were just trying to include them,” said the typist.

“Let’s all take a step back and breathe,” offered the columnist. “This is a publication by inmates, for inmates, right? At least it’s ours.”