Accepts cases of actual innocence in AR, IA, KS, MO, and NE; applicants must have more than 10 years left to serve on their sentence; cannot be currently represented by another attorney except for Iowa applicants; must have exhausted all appeals. Also reviews death penalty cases.

CCWP is a grassroots abolitionist organization, with members inside and outside prison, that challenges the institutional violence imposed on women, transgender and non-binary people, and communities of color by the prison industrial complex (PIC). CCWP visits incarcerated people in CA women's prisons, offers a writing correspondence programs, and produces a newsletter, “The Fire Inside,” free to incarcerated people. Primarily works with individuals in California but mails the newsletter to people around the country. L.A. Chapter – PO Box 291585, Los Angeles, CA 90029

Prisons Foundation for more than 20 years provides prison authors and others with free and low-cost services including books on Amazon and elsewhere, literary agent representation, advice on how to legally avoid being placed on the sex offenders registry, advocacy services to pursue grievances, and video production for placement of your story on YouTube. Write Prisons Foundation, 2512 Virginia Ave NW, Suite 58043, Washington, DC 20037; Include SASE for quick reply. Serves writers nationally.

The Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook: How to Bring a Federal Lawsuit to Challenge Violations of Your Rights in Prison

Published jointly by the National Lawyers Guild and the Center for Constitutional Rights, explains how a prisoner can start a lawsuit in federal court to fight against mistreatment and bad conditions in prison. This handbook is a free resource for people in prison who wish to file a federal lawsuit addressing poor conditions in prison or abuse by prison staff. It also contains limited general information about the United States legal system. Has excellent explanation of the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Essential resource for any jailhouse lawyer.  Last updated in 2021.  To receive a paperbound copy, mail a request to the above address and wait at least 2 months for return.  Requests are bundled and sent only several times per year.  If no response after 3 months, write to the National NLG Prison Law Project for a copy: P.O. Box 1266; New York, NY, 10009.

The Handbook is also available downloaded from their website (http://jailhouselaw.org/) Request an outside source to print and mail it to you. List of chapter headings: (1) How to Use the JLH; (2) Overview of Types of Lawsuits and the Prison Litigation Reform Act' 3) Your Rights in Prison; (4) Who to Sue and What to Ask for; (5) How to Start Your Lawsuit; (6) What Happens After You File Your Suit; (7) The Legal System and Legal Research; and Appendices A-N.

The California Prison and Parole Law Handbook (Heather MacKay & Prison Law Office, 5th Ed, 2019, 1170 pages) is newly updated in 2019! It is a comprehensive overview of the laws and policies affecting people in state prisons and on parole in California. Includes extensive discussion of the administrative appeals and court actions that people can use to protect their rights and to seek remedies. 19 chapters, plus resource lists, forms, and sample legal documents. It is available for download for free online at https://prisonlaw.com/resources/prison-handbook/. Paper copies for people in custody are $20 and $200 for all others. Prices include tax, shipping and handling. The Prison Law Office has a monthly drawing for free copies of The Handbook for people in custody. To be put in the pool, a person should send a copy of their trust account statement showing that they have not had more than $25 in their account in the past six months to Prison Law Office at above address.

Chapters include: Administrative Appeals; Rights of People in Prison; Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Use of Excessive Force, and Protection from Physical and Sexual Abuse; Classification, Housing and Programs; Prison Rule Violations; Placement in Segregation; Medical, Mental Health, and Dental Care; Determinate Sentences, Restitution, Time Credits, and Release Dates; Life Parole Suitability, Other Board of Parole Hearings Proceedings, Commutations, and Pardons; Detainers and Extradition; Parole and Post-Release Community Supervision; MDO and SVP Commitments; Workers Compensation and Other Benefits; Immigration Issues for People in Prison; Direct Appeals of Criminal Convictions; State Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Writ of Mandate/Prohibition; Federal Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus; Federal Civil Rights (“Section 1983”) Lawsuits; State Tort Lawsuits; and Legal Research, Writing, and Strategies.

A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (12th Ed, 2020, 1520 pages, $30) is a handbook of legal rights and procedures designed to inform prisoners of their rights and how use to judicial process to secure these rights on both the federal and state level, with an emphasis on New York State law. It also has published the following supplements: 1) on Louisiana state law; 2) on Texas state law; and 3) on Immigration and consular access, containing information about the immigration law consequences of criminal convictions for people who are not U.S. Citizens. Individual chapters are also available for download.

This is a student-run, volunteer organization; they cannot provide legal advice or respond to individual inquiries. Expect delays in delivery.

For incarcerated persons, the 12th Edition of the main JLM is $30; supplements range from $15-25 by state. Make checks payable to "Columbia Jailhouse Lawyers' Manual." For non-prisoners, the main JLM is $140 and supplements range from $50-100. 

Wisconsin Books to Prisoners is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that sends books free of charge to state prisoners in Wisconsin. Does not respond to email inquiries. Sends to Wisconsin only.

Accepts cases of actual innocence in West Virginia; DNA and non-DNA cases; three or more years left to serve. Serves West Virginia only.

In order to qualify for representation, a prisoner must: Be wrongly convicted of crimes in Washington; be unable to afford counsel; no longer have the right to appointed counsel; have completed the direct appeals process; have at least three years of prison time remaining to be served; have a claim of actual innocence that can be proven through DNA testing or other newly discovered evidence; and have no involvement in the crime whatsoever. Must have been convicted in Washington state to qualify.

The Institutions Project represents people confined in Washington's jails, prisons, juvenile detention facilities, mental health facilities, and facilities for people with developmental disabilities. This work has focused on conditions of confinement, discrimination, sentencing and placement, alternatives to institutionalization, and access to courts, as well as issues related to rehabilitation, re-entry, and reductions in recidivism. Serves people in Washington state only.