Inquest
@inquest.bsky.social
National Magazine Award 2025 finalist focused on ending mass incarceration. Sign up for our newsletter: https://inquest.org/subscribe-follow/
This week Inquest covered the long history of opposition to Atlanta's racist policing, and how not even Sing Sing prison could keep Joseph Wilson from composing operas for Carnegie Hall. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
November 8, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This week Inquest covered the long history of opposition to Atlanta's racist policing, and how not even Sing Sing prison could keep Joseph Wilson from composing operas for Carnegie Hall. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
In 1901, "11,502 Black men, women, boys, and girls were arrested, comprising 64.5 percent of total arrests. Atlanta’s Black population was approximately 36,000." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Atlanta's long history of racist policing
Stop Cop City’s Deep Roots - Jonathon Booth - Inquest
For 150 years, Atlanta has endured racist policing that has served the interest of the city’s economic elite. The fight to resist this “Atlanta way” goes back just as far.
inquest.org
November 7, 2025 at 1:00 PM
In 1901, "11,502 Black men, women, boys, and girls were arrested, comprising 64.5 percent of total arrests. Atlanta’s Black population was approximately 36,000." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Atlanta's long history of racist policing
@interdependentstudy.com continues it podcast series based on our Abolitionist Lessons from the Prison Belt series w/ @lydiajean.bsky.social Judah Schept, Ruth Wilson Gilmore & @craiggilmore.bsky.social — read the article they're discussing here: inquest.org/custody-and-...
November 6, 2025 at 3:43 PM
@interdependentstudy.com continues it podcast series based on our Abolitionist Lessons from the Prison Belt series w/ @lydiajean.bsky.social Judah Schept, Ruth Wilson Gilmore & @craiggilmore.bsky.social — read the article they're discussing here: inquest.org/custody-and-...
"Seeing today’s protesters as part of a long history of resistance to police oppression allows us to better appreciate the political continuities [&] to see where openings for potential change may appear." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Black Atlantans' response to oppression
Stop Cop City’s Deep Roots - Jonathon Booth - Inquest
For 150 years, Atlanta has endured racist policing that has served the interest of the city’s economic elite. The fight to resist this “Atlanta way” goes back just as far.
inquest.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:17 PM
"Seeing today’s protesters as part of a long history of resistance to police oppression allows us to better appreciate the political continuities [&] to see where openings for potential change may appear." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Black Atlantans' response to oppression
"Over the years, my sister has gone to Carnegie Hall to hear music I’ve written. She was an adolescent when I was arrested. Now, two decades later, this is how I spend time with her—giving her something to be proud of." Joseph Wilson on writing celebrated operas from prison
I’m in Prison. My Opera Was Performed at Carnegie Hall. - Joseph Wilson - Inquest
Inside Sing Sing, I turned my twenty-five-year sentence into music fit for one of the world’s greatest stages.
inquest.org
November 5, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Over the years, my sister has gone to Carnegie Hall to hear music I’ve written. She was an adolescent when I was arrested. Now, two decades later, this is how I spend time with her—giving her something to be proud of." Joseph Wilson on writing celebrated operas from prison
"It was important to me to highlight the realities of incarceration. The audience has to witness the humiliation of a strip search, late-night conviction in a lonely cell, separation from loved ones." Joseph Wilson on composing an opera from prison & trying to reach audiences
I’m in Prison. My Opera Was Performed at Carnegie Hall. - Joseph Wilson - Inquest
Inside Sing Sing, I turned my twenty-five-year sentence into music fit for one of the world’s greatest stages.
inquest.org
November 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
"It was important to me to highlight the realities of incarceration. The audience has to witness the humiliation of a strip search, late-night conviction in a lonely cell, separation from loved ones." Joseph Wilson on composing an opera from prison & trying to reach audiences
This week Inquest covered the devastating FCC vote that will cost families of incarcerated people at least $250 million more per year, and a reevaluation of the history of how the South become the most incarcerated region of the US. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
November 1, 2025 at 3:00 PM
This week Inquest covered the devastating FCC vote that will cost families of incarcerated people at least $250 million more per year, and a reevaluation of the history of how the South become the most incarcerated region of the US. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
"We did not ask for a softer bed, a nightstand, a locker, etc. WE ASKED FOR LIFE!!" —incarcerated strike leader Marjorie Marsh. Read her story:
From Chain Gangs to the “Modern” Southern Prison - Kirstine Taylor - Inquest
Over the course of the twentieth century, southern moderates claimed to pursue growth and modernization, even as they more permanently enshrined a racialized carceral state.
inquest.org
October 31, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"We did not ask for a softer bed, a nightstand, a locker, etc. WE ASKED FOR LIFE!!" —incarcerated strike leader Marjorie Marsh. Read her story:
Attending #NLADA25 @nlada.bsky.social ? Don't miss our panel "Freedom Writers: The Importance of Writing from Experience to Challenge Mass Incarceration," TODAY 3–4pm, featuring @premaldharia.bsky.social @adammcgee.bsky.social & Inquest contributors Kenithia Alston & Ivan Kilgore @ubfsf.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Attending #NLADA25 @nlada.bsky.social ? Don't miss our panel "Freedom Writers: The Importance of Writing from Experience to Challenge Mass Incarceration," TODAY 3–4pm, featuring @premaldharia.bsky.social @adammcgee.bsky.social & Inquest contributors Kenithia Alston & Ivan Kilgore @ubfsf.bsky.social
Political scientist Kirstine Taylor breaks down how the Jim Crow South transformed into the modern carceral state. Tl;dr threaded below, or get the whole story here: inquest.org/from-cha... [cont., 1/3]
From Chain Gangs to the “Modern” Southern Prison - Kirstine Taylor - Inquest
Over the course of the twentieth century, southern moderates claimed to pursue growth and modernization, even as they more permanently enshrined a racialized carceral state.
inquest.org
October 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Political scientist Kirstine Taylor breaks down how the Jim Crow South transformed into the modern carceral state. Tl;dr threaded below, or get the whole story here: inquest.org/from-cha... [cont., 1/3]
Reposted by Inquest
I remember what it felt like to see that number pop up on my phone when my dad called from prison, and how devastating it felt to see it as a missed call notification. Phone calls are precious time for incarcerated people and their loved ones outside.
"Families will have to pay $215 million more to stay connected than anticipated last year, and there’s expected to be two-thirds fewer call minutes between families and their incarcerated loved ones due to the higher rates." @biancatylek.bsky.social @worthrises.bsky.social
Your Call Could Not Be Completed - Bianca Tylek - Inquest
Under Biden, the FCC made unprecedented progress toward ending price gouging for prison phone calls. Tomorrow, Trump’s FCC is expected to undo it all.
inquest.org
October 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
I remember what it felt like to see that number pop up on my phone when my dad called from prison, and how devastating it felt to see it as a missed call notification. Phone calls are precious time for incarcerated people and their loved ones outside.
"Families will have to pay $215 million more to stay connected than anticipated last year, and there’s expected to be two-thirds fewer call minutes between families and their incarcerated loved ones due to the higher rates." @biancatylek.bsky.social @worthrises.bsky.social
Your Call Could Not Be Completed - Bianca Tylek - Inquest
Under Biden, the FCC made unprecedented progress toward ending price gouging for prison phone calls. Tomorrow, Trump’s FCC is expected to undo it all.
inquest.org
October 28, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"Families will have to pay $215 million more to stay connected than anticipated last year, and there’s expected to be two-thirds fewer call minutes between families and their incarcerated loved ones due to the higher rates." @biancatylek.bsky.social @worthrises.bsky.social
"Families impacted by incarceration have spent years advocating to reduce the extortionary cost of prison phone calls. Tomorrow Trump’s FCC is expected to vote on revised regulations that would unravel" all recent progress. @biancatylek.bsky.social @worthrises.bsky.social
Your Call Could Not Be Completed - Bianca Tylek - Inquest
Under Biden, the FCC made unprecedented progress toward ending price gouging for prison phone calls. Tomorrow, Trump’s FCC is expected to undo it all.
inquest.org
October 27, 2025 at 1:03 PM
"Families impacted by incarceration have spent years advocating to reduce the extortionary cost of prison phone calls. Tomorrow Trump’s FCC is expected to vote on revised regulations that would unravel" all recent progress. @biancatylek.bsky.social @worthrises.bsky.social
This week, Inquest examined why lethal injection remains so popular with death-penalty states despite its monstrous failings, and we found hope in Black Studies. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
October 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
This week, Inquest examined why lethal injection remains so popular with death-penalty states despite its monstrous failings, and we found hope in Black Studies. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
"We have a pretty clear pattern: lethal injection is *so bad* that incarcerated people are actually able to meet these super high standards [for legal challenge]. And what is the Court’s response? 'Well, we’ll just keep raising the standard.'" @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social
The Myth of Forever Sleep - Corinna Barrett Lain interviewed by Carol Steiker - Inquest
A new book examines why states continue to sell the American people on the utility of lethal injection—despite its well-documented, monstrous failings.
inquest.org
October 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"We have a pretty clear pattern: lethal injection is *so bad* that incarcerated people are actually able to meet these super high standards [for legal challenge]. And what is the Court’s response? 'Well, we’ll just keep raising the standard.'" @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social
Reposted by Inquest
Why do states cling to lethal injection despite its documented failures? In a new interview with @inquest.bsky.social, legal scholar Corinna Barrett Lain reveals a disturbing answer: it hides the violence of state killing.
Discover the full interview with Carol Steiker here:
Discover the full interview with Carol Steiker here:
The Myth of Forever Sleep - Corinna Barrett Lain interviewed by Carol Steiker - Inquest
A new book examines why states continue to sell the American people on the utility of lethal injection—despite its well-documented, monstrous failings.
buff.ly
October 23, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Why do states cling to lethal injection despite its documented failures? In a new interview with @inquest.bsky.social, legal scholar Corinna Barrett Lain reveals a disturbing answer: it hides the violence of state killing.
Discover the full interview with Carol Steiker here:
Discover the full interview with Carol Steiker here:
"There’s one thing, *only* one, that lethal injection does well: it hides the violence of state killing." @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social discusses her recent book 'Secrets of the Killing State' @nyupress.bsky.social and why state's are so determined to keep lethal injections
The Myth of Forever Sleep - Corinna Barrett Lain interviewed by Carol Steiker - Inquest
A new book examines why states continue to sell the American people on the utility of lethal injection—despite its well-documented, monstrous failings.
inquest.org
October 23, 2025 at 12:41 PM
"There’s one thing, *only* one, that lethal injection does well: it hides the violence of state killing." @corinnabarrettlain.bsky.social discusses her recent book 'Secrets of the Killing State' @nyupress.bsky.social and why state's are so determined to keep lethal injections
"Suffering cannot be overcome in isolation." Ariel Gilbert on the afterlife of slavery—and the power of study and struggle.
Hope You Get This - Ariel Gilbert - Inquest
My earliest memories of life were being loved by my father. I couldn’t imagine then all the ways Black men’s lives are endangered.
inquest.org
October 22, 2025 at 1:32 PM
"Suffering cannot be overcome in isolation." Ariel Gilbert on the afterlife of slavery—and the power of study and struggle.
"It seemed there weren’t enough planets in the universe to count all the ways Black life was endangered: medical racism, drug overdoses, incarceration, food insecurity, physical violence. 24/7 hypervigilance was exhausting." Meeting peril head-on with freedom dreams: inquest.org/hope-you-get...
Hope You Get This - Ariel Gilbert - Inquest
My earliest memories of life were being loved by my father. I couldn’t imagine then all the ways Black men’s lives are endangered.
inquest.org
October 21, 2025 at 1:10 PM
"It seemed there weren’t enough planets in the universe to count all the ways Black life was endangered: medical racism, drug overdoses, incarceration, food insecurity, physical violence. 24/7 hypervigilance was exhausting." Meeting peril head-on with freedom dreams: inquest.org/hope-you-get...
This week Inquest addressed how racial capitalism explains the overcharging of Luigi Mangione, and shared an incarcerated author's take on finding hope in a hopeless place. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
October 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM
This week Inquest addressed how racial capitalism explains the overcharging of Luigi Mangione, and shared an incarcerated author's take on finding hope in a hopeless place. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
A thread on Mangione vs. how those who kill marginalized, poor, & Black people are treated—or read it all here from @ch4rlotte.bsky.social inquest.org/making-a...
"The actions of Penny, Rittenhouse, & Zimmerman did not pose a fundamental threat to the established order." [1/4]
"The actions of Penny, Rittenhouse, & Zimmerman did not pose a fundamental threat to the established order." [1/4]
Making an Example of Luigi Mangione - Charlotte Boucher - Inquest
The criminal legal system aims to send a message by massively overcharging him: it will defend racial capitalism above all else.
inquest.org
October 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM
A thread on Mangione vs. how those who kill marginalized, poor, & Black people are treated—or read it all here from @ch4rlotte.bsky.social inquest.org/making-a...
"The actions of Penny, Rittenhouse, & Zimmerman did not pose a fundamental threat to the established order." [1/4]
"The actions of Penny, Rittenhouse, & Zimmerman did not pose a fundamental threat to the established order." [1/4]
Reposted by Inquest
Check out my new article in @inquest.bsky.social about the prosecution of Luigi Mangione.
"The charges against [Mangione] make clear that the criminal legal system’s response to murder has everything to do with who is murdered—and who does the murdering." Political scientist @ch4rlotte.bsky.social on the workings of racial capitalism.
Making an Example of Luigi Mangione - Charlotte Boucher - Inquest
The criminal legal system aims to send a message by massively overcharging him: it will defend racial capitalism above all else.
inquest.org
October 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Check out my new article in @inquest.bsky.social about the prosecution of Luigi Mangione.
"The charges against [Mangione] make clear that the criminal legal system’s response to murder has everything to do with who is murdered—and who does the murdering." Political scientist @ch4rlotte.bsky.social on the workings of racial capitalism.
Making an Example of Luigi Mangione - Charlotte Boucher - Inquest
The criminal legal system aims to send a message by massively overcharging him: it will defend racial capitalism above all else.
inquest.org
October 16, 2025 at 2:06 PM
"The charges against [Mangione] make clear that the criminal legal system’s response to murder has everything to do with who is murdered—and who does the murdering." Political scientist @ch4rlotte.bsky.social on the workings of racial capitalism.
"I too am an incarcerated man with more time remaining in my sentence than is humanly possible." Tut Waterman on death by incarceration.
I Walked Past Him - Tutankhamon Waterman - Inquest
In prison, a cancer diagnosis might as well be a death sentence.
inquest.org
October 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM
"I too am an incarcerated man with more time remaining in my sentence than is humanly possible." Tut Waterman on death by incarceration.
"Prisons are built in remote locations, shielded behind wire and walls, and utterly severed from society’s truth-seekers—its journalists, its documentarians, and its scholars—and from the families and loved ones of those inside." Read more:
Prison Journalism Is a Disinfecting Light. That’s Why Prisons Suppress It. - Inquest
A new initiative on prison journalism from the Institute to End Mass Incarceration aims to restore prison transparency and First Amendment rights for incarcerated journalists.
inquest.org
October 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"Prisons are built in remote locations, shielded behind wire and walls, and utterly severed from society’s truth-seekers—its journalists, its documentarians, and its scholars—and from the families and loved ones of those inside." Read more: