PUBLICATION: Logic(s) DATE: 2023 In 2020, North Carolina contracted TextBehind, a company that scans mail, to process all incoming personal letters and pictures sent to prisoners. To justify this move, prison officials blamed drug-soaked paper being smuggled in through letters. Phillip refutes this excuse to uncover how companies like TextBehind are really selling surveillance by […]
PUBLICATION: Bolts DATE: July, 17, 2024 In 2000, Phillip was released from prison into homelessness, a condition that contributed to his recidivism. He writes to show how an executive order expanding reentry services for newly released people in his state could have helped him. The gravity of his piece is clear when he writes, “I […]
PUBLICATION: Slate DATE: December 13 2024 Phillip’s essay shed’s light on how e-messaging with prison tablets eases contact to loved ones, but with major setbacks. He writes, “E-messaging can facilitate connection and growth during incarceration, but exorbitant fees and shoddy service can also hinder relationships instead of nurturing them.”
PUBLICATION: Film Comments DATE: April 22, 2024 Phillip breaks down how prisoners watch film on prison-issued tablets. Everyone wants to be entertained, but for the incarcerated, escaping confinement through movies means much more. “Watching films has helped me make it through twenty-two years of a life without parole sentence in North Carolina,” he writes. Phillip […]