Women, the Death Penalty and a Story We're Just Starting to Tell We talk about capital punishment as if it has always been a man's story. The numbers suggest otherwise — but only if you know where to look. In 1632, Jane Champion became the first woman executed in the new colonies. She wasn't a… Continue reading Beyond Mercy
Tag: systemic reform
TX-AL Series Finale: A Path Toward Justice and Redemption
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… Continue reading TX-AL Series Finale: A Path Toward Justice and Redemption
TX-AL Series Finale Preview
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… Continue reading TX-AL Series Finale Preview
Southern Sentences, Post 2: Chains of the Past & From Plantation to Prison
Chains of the Past: How Texas Built Its Prison Empire on Slavery and Segregation Texas’s prison system didn’t emerge in a vacuum—it was built atop the foundations of slavery, segregation, and racialized punishment. The state’s earliest carceral institutions mirrored plantation life, with incarcerated Black men forced to labor in fields under brutal conditions1. Convict leasing,… Continue reading Southern Sentences, Post 2: Chains of the Past & From Plantation to Prison
When Justice Stops—The Lawyer Work Stoppage in Massachusetts
The lawyer stoppage in Massachusetts has brought the justice system to a standstill. Public defenders, overwhelmed and underfunded, have reached a breaking point, refusing new cases to highlight the systemic strain. This unprecedented action has led to the release of defendants—not because they were exonerated, but because there was no one left to speak on… Continue reading When Justice Stops—The Lawyer Work Stoppage in Massachusetts
On (In)justice 