Essays & Shorts

I write a semi-regular column on gender and incarceration (often with undergraduate co-authors) for Graterfriends, a newspaper by and for incarcerated people in Pennsylvania and beyond. You can subscribe and/or send a subscription to an incarcerated friend at Pennsylvania Prison Society.

Hahn, Paisley, Isabella Ballian, and Jill McCorkel. 2024. “Parenting from Prison.” Graterfriends (January – February).

Kim, Zoe and Jill McCorkel. 2022. “In the Wake of Dobbs: Reproductive Healthcare in Prisons & Jails.” Graterfriends (November – December).

McCorkel, Jill and Christina Folan. 2022. “Mass Incarceration and the LGBTQ+ Community.” Graterfriends (July – August).

McCorkel, Jill, Sara Brady, Mariel Persico, Jen Lambert, and Madison McGuire. 2022. “What’s Wrong with Cash Bail? Everything.” Graterfriends (March – April).

McCorkel, Jill. 2022. “The Legalization of Collateral Consequences.” Graterfriends (January – February).

McCorkel, Jill and Sara Brady. 2021. “Are Mass Commutations the Solution to Mass Incarceration?” Graterfriends (November – December).

McCorkel, Jill. 2021. “From Attica to Alderson.” Graterfriends 49(5):4-5.

McCorkel, Jill and Julia Nema. 2021. “Are Self-Defense Laws Sexist?” Graterfriends 49(4):4.

McCorkel, Jill. 2021. “Gender Inequality and the Mass Incarceration of Women.” Graterfriends 49(3):5.

McCorkel, Jill. 2021. “The Other Public Health Crisis in PA’s Prisons & Jails.” Pennsylvania Capital-Star. March 17.

McCorkel, Jill. 2020. “Police Unions Are One of the Biggest Obstacles to Transforming Policing.” The Conversation June 12.

McCorkel, Jill. 2020. “Police Officers Accused of Brutal Violence Often Have a History of Complaints by Citizens.” The Conversation May 31.

McCorkel, Jill. 2019. “Mothers in Prison Aren’t Likely to See Their Families This Thanksgiving—Or Any Other Day.” The Conversation November 22.

McCorkel, Jill.  2016. “The Price of Freedom in Orange is the New Black.” NYU Press From the Square. 

McCorkel, Jill. 2009. “Mass Incarceration” Strongbox Magazine 1(1):23-54.  Collaborative photo essay with SCI Graterford students.