ISSUE NO. 22
MAY 2026

Letters

About Time dedicates many of its pages to publishing the letters of people in prison, as well as from their family and friends.

This is the centrepiece of the paper: a platform for people to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Latest

Why Mum Can’t Come Home

Stories I tell my children

By Hannah

I am currently remanded and I have two young children. My son is 8 and my daughter is 6. I have never told them that I’m in jail and instead explain to them that I’m at a facility that helps mummys and daddys get their minds and bodies strong again.

I’ve struggled to explain to them the lengthy time periods I’ve spent away from home, so recently I wrote them both a story that tried to explain why I’m not always around.

ISSUE NO. 22
2 MIN READ
Ike Curtis

‘I Try, I Really Do’

By Lynda

Mum I wish you knew how much I care, and how much I miss you when you’re not there.

ISSUE NO. 22
1 MIN READ

From a Mum With Her Son in Jail

By Lorraine

Living grief, as a mother, is waking each day with the knowledge that your child is still here, yet not truly free.

ISSUE NO. 22
2 MIN READ

Handling Family Issues From Prison

By Amos

Family issues trouble you the most while you are in the custody. Maybe you have a spouse or children. Or you may have close relationship with some members of the family. Some of us might have children in different states or overseas.

ISSUE NO. 22
2 MIN READ
By Dane

The following is in response to the article by Denham Sadler titled “Sweltering Behind Bars: Stifling Heat in Australian prisons”.

ISSUE NO. 22
2 MIN READ
By Luiing

If foreign prisoners have been sentenced under same law as Australians, then it’s extremely important that they have right to be treat equally in their imprisonment – on humanitarian grounds.

ISSUE NO. 22
2 MIN READ
By Prisoners at Albany Prison, WA

We are not sure who to write to or who we can talk to about theses matters. We are hoping someone reads our letter and can point us in the right direction to have our voices heard.

ISSUE NO. 22
1 MIN READ
By Muhamed

Prison teaches people to hold back. To keep to themselves. To give as little as possible. To protect what little energy or hope they have left. When everything feels limited – time, freedom, trust – it makes sense to think that giving more will leave you with less. But the bee lives by a different rule.

ISSUE NO. 22
2 MIN READ

Previous Editions

ISSUE NO. 7
February 2025

You Forget How to Love

By Dave

Now about jail and what it does to you inside: you learn to suppress your feelings and show your anger or bravado. But what happens then to you? You forget how to love.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 7
February 2025

What Happened to Christmas Dinners?

By Rocket

I am nearly 72 years of age, and I have been in a prison or institution for all but eight or ten years of my life. So I would know a bit about Christmas lunch in the prison system.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 7
February 2025

Never Too Old To Learn

By Jack

A couple of months ago I began attending education here and found a program called “BK SB”, which brings students’ ability to manage English and maths up to scratch.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 7
February 2025

You Are Worthy

By Jessica

I just read issue 5 November 2024. There was an article titled “Bodies in Cages: Trans Experiences in Prison”. Being a trans woman myself, I wanted to share my story of experience in custody.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 7
February 2025

Great Ideas for Prisons

By Kerrin

Look at the bare roofs across our jails, put some solar panels on all of them and turn them all into power stations, effectively reducing power bills everywhere!

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 7
February 2025

Fences Inside and Around Me

By D.

It’s my first time being inside. My anxiety, fear, depression and mental health are heightened with extra volume.

2 MIN READ

Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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