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Yale Law Journal sponsoring prisoner writing contest

By Douglas Berman

YaleA helpful reader altered me to the interesting news that the Yale Law Journal is now, as detailed on this webpage, welcoming submissions for its first Prison Law Writing Contest.  Here are some of the details:

If you are or recently have been in jail or prison, we invite you to write a short essay about your experiences with the law.  The three top submissions will win cash prizes, and we hope to publish the best work….

The Contest offers people in prison the chance to share their stories with people who shape the law and to explain how the law affects their lives.  Where permitted by state law, the authors of the winning essays will receive prizes: $250 for first place, $100 for second place, and $50 for third place.

Here are just some of the interesting topics concerning which the Yale Law Journal seeks submissions:

  • What does fair treatment look like in prison?
  • Tell us about a notable or surprising experience you’ve had with another person in the legal system — whether a judge, a lawyer, a guard, or anyone else.  What did you learn from it?
  • The goals of criminal punishment include retribution (giving people what they deserve), deterrence (discouraging future crimes), and rehabilitation (improving behavior). What purpose, if any, has your time in prison served?  Should one of these purposes be emphasized more?…
  • If you have been released from prison, what challenges did you face in reentering society?…
  • How, if at all, do you maintain relationships with your family while in prison?  Describe the prison rules that govern how much contact you can have with your family. How has being in prison affected your family relationships? 

Here are the basic rules: “You may submit an essay if you have been an inmate in a prison or jail at any point from January 1, 2010 through September 30, 2012. We welcome essays of about 1000-5000 words, or roughly 4-20 pages.”

Kudos to the students at Yale for running this interesting writing contest. I hope they will consider reporting on the number of submissions they receive and consider making many of them widely available for public consumption (at least on-line).