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  • The Marshall Project

    Father and Son, Next Door Neighbors in Prison

    "We take turns holding the mirror to see each other. And we talk for hours."
    by Kenneth Key and Michael Key, as told to Alysia Santo Jun 10, 2019 5 minutes

    Editor’s note: This week, The Marshall Project is publishing a series of essays and interviews about fatherhood and incarceration. This is the first installment.

    Life Inside Perspectives from those who work and live in the criminal justice system. Related Stories

    Some of Michael Key’s earliest memories are traveling from his home in Chicago to an Illinois Kenneth. As a teenager, Michael joined a gang and fell out of touch with his dad—then he was convicted of murder and sent to prison himself. For almost 20 years, Michael and Kenneth have been incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center, both serving life sentences. Prison officials would not allow the Keys to be interviewed together, but in separate phone conversations, father and son talked to The Marshall Project about rekindling their relationship behind bars. At the time, they were living in cells next to one another. Their

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