The Language Project

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The Marshall Project
@MarshallProj
The Marshall Project has made the decision to stop using terms like “convict,” “inmate,” and “felon” in our journalism. Journalism is a discipline of clarity. That’s why we’ve solidified our policy for how we talk about people behind bars:

The Language Project
Rethinking the words journalists use to talk about people who are currently or previously incarcerated.
themarshallproject.org
6:06 PM · Jul 13, 2021

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/04/12/the-language-project

Reporters and editors have long believed that terms such as “inmate,” “felon” and “offender” are clear, succinct and neutral. But a vocal segment of people affected by the criminal justice system argue that these words — and any other words that define human beings by their crimes and punishments — are dehumanizing.

The Marshall Project occupies a unique space in criminal justice reporting. We are not an advocacy organization, but we are committed to sustaining a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. As a result, fellow journalists often ask us about our style and standards around the language of criminal justice, and activists we meet frequently confront us about our usage of words such as “inmate.”

The Marshall Project began addressing this issue in 2015, our second year of existence, but we did not make a decision to change our style guide. Since then, through our deepening engagement with formerly and currently incarcerated people, we have realized the urgency of examining and articulating the language we use.

The Language Project serves three purposes. First, through a series of powerful pieces by and about people with intimate experience with incarceration, we show the human impact of the words we choose. Second, our guide, “What Words We Use — and Avoid — When Covering People and Incarceration,” makes public our decision to avoid labels such as “inmate,” in favor of language that follows the logic of “person-first” language. Third, we provide alternatives to the labels.

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