Inside the US prison system, finding an avenue for higher education is a monumental task.
![[Illustration by Martin Robles]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Prison-1763444507.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Tariq MaQbool is an advisor to the Prison Journalism Project. His work has been published in Al Jazeera English, Rolling Stone, The Marshall Project, ...The Star-Ledger, Slant'd, The Progressive Magazine, The Prison Journalism Project, and many other outlets. He maintains the website captivevoices.com to share his and other imprisoned writers’ writings. MaQbool is currently incarcerated at New Jersey State Prison.
Inside the US prison system, finding an avenue for higher education is a monumental task.
![[Illustration by Martin Robles]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Prison-1763444507.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Inside the New Jersey State Prison, a dual economy thrives underground.
![Prison series [Illustration by Martin Robles]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Scanned_20251030_211132-1-1762253296.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Many of us behind the wall believe the system is built for conviction. So we’re learning the law to fight our cases.
![Prison series [Illustration by Martin Robles]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Scanned_20251002_211820-1-1759830922.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
For those of us who have experienced isolation in prison, it’s a trauma that never leaves.

I will likely die in prison, but before I do, myself and other prisoners want a process to ensure Islamic burial rites.
