Behind Bars During the Pandemic

Behind Bars During the Pandemic is a shocking firsthand account from inside USP Leavenworth federal prison during the pandemic’s deadliest phase. Author Dyng Hamilton exposes the devastating reality behind the 398,627 coronavirus cases among prisoners nationwide, revealing how the prison system abandoned incarcerated individuals when they needed protection most.
Through 18 compelling chapters, Hamilton documents the horrific conditions that made survival nearly impossible: 24-hour lockdowns in overcrowded 6x9 foot cells, suspended family visits, exploitative phone companies charging $1 per minute for desperate family contact, and commissary vendors marking up basic necessities by 400-500%. With medical care virtually nonexistent and legal systems collapsed, inmates faced life-threatening neglect while corporations profited from their suffering.
Yet this is also a remarkable story of human resilience and solidarity. Hamilton reveals how prisoners created support networks, shared scarce resources, and maintained dignity in dehumanizing conditions. Despite the system’s attempts to divide and break them, inmates put aside differences to care for one another when no one else would.
Backed by government statistics and rigorous research, this explosive exposé proves that only 17 out of 12,000+ inmates released under the CARES Act committed new crimes - a 0.2% recidivism rate that exposes the lie of mass incarceration serving public safety rather than corporate profits.
Hamilton’s unflinching truth-telling honors those who died alone in prison cells while demanding accountability for one of America’s greatest institutional failures during the pandemic.