Daniel Genis

In the Margins

My Memories of the New York Prison Where Inmates Say a Mentally-Ill Black Man Was Beaten to Death

Fishkill Correctional Facility is haunted by more than just ghosts.
Daniel Genis
8.19.15
Stuff

Babies in Jars, Death Masks, and Ponytails: My Induction to the Odditorium

A seven-inch piece of my hair was recently inducted into the one-of-a-kind crime exhibition New York artist Joe Coleman has spent much of his life assembling.
Daniel Genis
8.13.15
In the Margins

How to Protect Yourself from Violence in Prison

Whenever you go to the prison yard, there's always a chance you won't make it back. I would know: I spent ten years inside and learned how to weaponize everything from magazines to cigarette filters.
Daniel Genis
7.22.15
In the Margins

The New York Prison the Two Murderers Escaped from Has a Terrifying Reputation Among Inmates

In my time as a prisoner in New York State, I always heard dark rumors about Clinton Correctional Facility.
Daniel Genis
6.9.15
In the Margins

The Pains I've Endured Inside Police Vans and Prison Buses

I estimate that I've spent more than 100 hours in handcuffs being shuttled from prison to prison. I've seen a lot of things on those trips.
Daniel Genis
5.8.15
In the Margins

Passover in Prison

What it's like to observe a ritual celebrating escape and hope among murderers, anti-Semites, and faux converts just looking for a holiday gift box.
Daniel Genis
4.3.15
In the Margins

What It's Like to Spend St. Patrick's Day in Prison

Corned beef and cabbage were served on St. Patrick's Day every year I spent in prison, a testament to the racial politics of the prison-industrial complex.
Daniel Genis
3.17.15
In the Margins

How It Feels to Return to the Internet After a Decade in Prison

A lot can change when you spend 123 months behind bars.
Daniel Genis
2.27.15
In the Margins

Why Do French-Canadians Dominate New York's Christmas Tree Market?

Each holiday season, NYC sidewalks host fresh faces from Quebec, young bohemians hocking Douglas Firs to wealthy locals.
Daniel Genis
12.24.14
In the Margins

The Disgusting Stuff Desperate Russians Drank During Soviet Prohibition

Cologne, toothpaste, and industrial solvents all provided cheap thrills for Soviet citizens.
Daniel Genis
12.8.14
In the Margins

My Journeys into the Margins of Society as an Ex-Con

The margins, the twilight, the fringe of society—that's where the present first rolls over into the future, and this column aims to report from there.
Daniel Genis
11.13.14
The True Crime Issue

Four Years on Line with the Amityville Horror

They ran meds before breakfast, so I used to see the back of Ronald DeFeo Jr.'s head every morning before the sun was up.
Daniel Genis
9.18.14
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