In this edition: inside a cyberscam compound, behind bars but ahead of the times, up into the beyond, away from home, and under the night sky.
incarceration
It Was the Most Violent Prison in America. Then the Guards Went on Strike
“What happens when a group of men, incarcerated under bleak conditions, are left to govern themselves? In Walpole State Prison in 1973, ‘peace reigned’ for weeks—until the guards were sent back in.”
Socrates Would Be Pleased
“With a class of college students and inmates, teaching philosophy in prison is a rowdy, honest and hopeful provocation.”
Inside America’s Death Chambers
“What years of witnessing executions taught me about sin, mercy, and the possibility of redemption.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Mariana Serapicos, Camille Bromley, Devon Fredericksen, Georgia Brown, and Sarah Golibart Gorman.
In North Carolina, Juvenile Lifers See a Pathway to Freedom
“After the state’s previous governor granted clemency to people sentenced to life in prison as minors, others with juvenile life sentences are hoping the new administration.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories by Brenna Ehrlich, Yiyun Li, Claire L. Evans, Nicholas Casey, and Kent Russell.
The Last Face Death Row Inmates See
“The Rev. Jeff Hood has made a career of fighting to save men the state wants to kill — and it doesn’t matter if they’re innocent.”
Everyone Loved a Colorado Prison’s VFW Post—Until a Popular YouTuber Heard About It
“When the VFW opened a chapter inside northeastern Colorado’s Sterling Correctional Facility, the post was celebrated as a victory for prison reform nationwide. So why did it get canceled?”
