The main prison in Port-au-Prince emptied after the earthquake last week. Those inmates who weren’t killed were free to walk through the rubble, into the heart of the city. And an estimated 4,000 of them did just that.

Who were they? Were they among the machete-wielding pillagers who made their way along the Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines on Saturday afternoon? (The account in The Times, “Looting Flares Where Authority Breaks Down,” said no one could answer with certainty.) Did their numbers include political prisoners? In “Disaster Imperialism in Haiti” on MRZine, a Socialist Web site, Shirley Pate wrote: “Who knows how many of the dead or escaped prisoners there were those who were incarcerated without cause over the course of the two years that followed Aristide’s departure?”

Damon Winter’s photographs answer none of these questions. They don’t mean to. But they do begin to paint a picture of life inside a Haitian prison; a picture that few people have ever seen before.

Coverage of the Earthquake on Lens

Wednesday, Jan. 13: Behind the Scenes: There for the Quake. Before Tuesday, Tequila Minsky was known in Lower Manhattan as an enterprising freelancer. With her pictures from Haiti just after the quake, she engaged the world.

Wednesday, Jan. 13: Essay: No End of Trouble. Ever. The photojournalist Maggie Steber has covered Haiti for more than 20 years. As she prepared to depart for Port-au-Prince, she reflected on the country’s recent history.

Friday, Jan. 15: On Assignment: Prayers in the Dark. Among Damon Winter’s first impressions after his arrival in Port-au-Prince was the sound of singing and praying through the night, punctuated by screams during tremors.

Saturday, Jan. 16: From the Archive: Haiti, Alive. Images of 20th-century Haiti from the archives of the National Geographic Society and The New York Times speak to the country’s beauty and its seemingly unending misery.

Sunday, Jan. 17: On Assignment: Where Is the Help? Damon Winter is constantly being asked that question by the people of Haiti. Powerless to answer, having seen only one food line in five days, he wonders the same thing himself.

Monday, Jan. 18: On Assignment: Katrina Many Times Over. Michael Appleton, a veteran conflict photographer, sees less violence than during the 2004 coup, but says any comparison to Katrina must be magnified many, many times.

Tuesday, Jan. 19: On Assignment: “Silence and Submission.” Ron Haviv of the VII agency has been to Haiti at least 15 times. On arrival last week, he felt something new: the “overwhelming power of silence and submission.”

Wednesday, Jan. 20: Behind the Scenes: A Doomed Classroom. In 2009, Peter Pereira photographed a school near Carrefour, Haiti. The building was destroyed last week. His pictures are now being used to benefit victims.

Thursday, Jan. 21: Essay: A Culture in Jeopardy, Too. In a personal reflection, Maggie Steber describes how Haiti’s resilient people have begun rebounding after 10 days but how much more — its cultural identity — may be endangered.