This essay was published in partnership with the Prison Journalism Project, which publishes independent journalism by jailed writers and others affected by imprisonment. On February 8, 2022, about an hour before the 6.30am morning count, an announcement rang out over the loudspeakers at New Jersey State Prison (NJSP). It was an emergency code, a “Code 53,” indicating a medical situation.Located in Trenton, NJSP is the state’s only maximum security prison for men. Most are serving long sentences, many for life. Before New Jersey abolished capital punishment in 2007, NJSP was home to the state’s death row, hence its nickname, “The Last Stop”. The prison today consists of three large compounds — West, North and South — and houses about 1,300 prisoners. Approximately 400 are Muslim. Except for a few dozen, the majority are converts.
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