This series began with a clear aim: to expose the scale of incarceration in Texas and Alabama, trace its historical roots, and humanize its impact. Over six posts, I’ve examined how these two states—distinct in history but aligned in consequence—embody the extremes of systemic injustice.
Texas revealed the machinery: sprawling prisons, harsh sentencing, and the legacy of death penalty excess. Alabama revealed the memory: overcrowded facilities, racialized punishment, and the enduring imprint of segregation.
Together, they offer a sobering portrait of how deeply embedded the carceral crisis has become—and how urgently it demands our attention. The conditions I’ve written about are not anomalies. They are sustained by policy, reinforced by neglect, and often hidden behind bureaucratic language that obscures suffering.
On Sunday, I’ll share the final post in this series. It won’t summarize what’s already been said. Instead, it will draw the throughline. It will name what must change, confront what remains hidden, and offer a path forward—a vision of justice and redemption that refuses to accept cruelty as the cost of order.
This preview is a pause. A moment to look back at where we began, and to prepare for what comes next. Not a conclusion, but a pivot—toward clarity, toward accountability, and toward the possibility of something better.
The final word waits. See you Sunday.
On (In)justice 