Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

Australia's National
Prison Newspaper

ISSUE NO. 19
FEBruary 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
Hope and Solidarity – a Freakin' Buzz!
Hope and Solidarity – a Freakin' Buzz!
Hope and Solidarity – a Freakin' Buzz!
Subheading
Subheading
By Joe
By Joe

I write to extend feedback – re: your monthly paper. I must say that it was with more than the usual measuring spoon of interest that most here @ MRC welcomed its arrival.

ISSUE NO. 3
5 MIN READ
Markus Spiske
My Time in Here Will Not Define Me
My Time in Here Will Not Define Me
My Time in Here Will Not Define Me
Subheading
Subheading
By Storm
By Storm

12 months into being remanded in custody. I’m still yet to be sentenced – hence I can’t see the end at all.

ISSUE NO. 3
3 MIN READ
'Forest Sky' by Mimo, $160, #5733, 60cm x 98cm, acrylic on canvas, available to purchase at https://www.nsw.gov.au/arts-and-culture/boom-gate-gallery
How Music Helped Me Express Myself in Prison
By Sam

It’s a positive and strange feeling hearing your own story through the words of another and here was me thinking I was alone in my travels as many of us do.

ISSUE NO. 19
5 MIN READ
We Are One
By Adrian

I don’t know when or if this will be published but since my last published letter ‘Unjust Justice’, a lot has happened. It seems we have gone through so much and at the same time we still haven’t changed a bit.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
Willy Pleasance
By Andy

Another thing to know about prison is that some beds are so short in jail that tall people have to sleep in the foetal position or bump their heads two feet at night.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
By Caitlin

For me, a small amount of people and being in my cell overnight by myself is joyful to me.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
By Rhiannon

I don’t know your name, your story, or the road that brought you here but I do know this: you matter. Right now. Exactly as you are.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
By Michelle

One of the hardest lessons, from being part of the drug scene then going to prison, is the feeling of loneliness, withdrawing and coming down, you miss your mates.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
By Nathan

I just wanted to give a big shout out to the amazing people at the Salvation Army for everything that they do for us in prison and outside in the community over the Christmas period.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
By Ahmed

When I get out I’m going to be hitting the gym but not sure if I’ll be taking steroids.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
By Seleena

While being incarcerated, I have learnt how many members of the community are Deaf and have a lot of trouble communicating as very few people know how to use sign language.

ISSUE NO. 19
2 MIN READ
Previous Editions
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

The Real Cost Of Staying Connected: Why Prison Phone Calls Must Be Fair

By Peter

On 1 November 2025, QCS introduced a new pricing model: 20 cents per minute for all calls, mobile or local. A call that once cost 30 cents for 15 minutes now costs $3 – a ten-times increase.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Forgiveness

By Grant

I have been incarcerated for 22 months of a four-year sentence in Queensland jails. This poem is about my own situation.

1 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Thank You for Your Stories

By Robert

Reading other prisoner’s stories inspired me to keep my head up and keep going now four months in, thank you all who share your stories and words of wisdom.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

I Should've Gone To Specsavers

By Alexandra

I moved units about a month ago and we feed some stray cats here. One even let me pat her last night! It's been over a year since I've patted an animal, so you can imagine how excited I was!

1 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Program Helping My Mental Health

By Anonymous

GROW is a community-based national organisation that works on mental wellbeing using a 12 step program of personal growth of mutual help and support. It operates through weekly peer support groups.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

Education Not Incarceration

By Jack

Why are jails so populated by people who are uneducated? What is being missed by the courts and cops and the community that the process of jailing people is formed around the process of not educating people or not identifying the problems in school?

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

My Advice to Others Inside

By Aaron

I’ve made the most of my time in jail this time and have made myself a promise to not just waste my time here, but to learn as much as I can, study, get fit, do as many programs as possible, and come out a better person than I came in as. I've achieved that, and more.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

The Need for Compassion in End-of-Life Prison Care

By Laurence

What I’m hoping to achieve by writing this is awareness of the care I receive and the stubbornness of the exceptional circumstances parole in Queensland.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 18
January 2026

The Cost of Contact – New Prison Phone Fees Punish the Poor

By Anonymous

We are encouraged to maintain contact with our support people, our wives, our families, and our friends. This upcoming price increase will reduce the amount of contact we will be able to have with our supports.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 17
December 2025

How I’ve GROWn

By Trevor

GROW is a community-based national organisation that works on mental wellbeing using a 12-step program of personal growth, mutual help and support. It operates through weekly peer support groups.

2 MIN READ
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