Recommending stories from Archie Bland, Elizabeth Bruenig, Anat Rubin, Dexter Thomas, and Elena Gosalvez Blanco.
capital punishment
Posted inEditor's Pick
Inside America’s Death Chambers
“What years of witnessing executions taught me about sin, mercy, and the possibility of redemption.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions
“Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Nuns Trying to Save the Women on Texas’s Death Row
“Sisters from a convent outside Waco have repeatedly visited the prisoners—and even made them affiliates of their order. The story of a powerful spiritual alliance.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Rachel Greenley, Annalisa Quinn, Amit Katwala, Jamie Loftus, and Werner Herzog. (Yes, that Werner Herzog.)
Posted inEditor's Pick
Trump’s Killing Spree: The Inside Story of His Race to Execute Every Prisoner He Could
“Before 2020, there had been three federal executions in 60 years. Then Trump put 13 people to death in six months.”
Posted inBlog Post, Current Events, Essays & Criticism
The Myth of Kevin Williamson
He’s not very good at his job.
Posted inHistory, Story
Watching a Fall
The allure and shame of watching America’s last public hanging.