In the States
Moving Forward
After a clean sweep in November, Republicans are now running Virginia. But the prospect of more progress, and justice, remains within reach for all Virginians.
In Depth
Cages in the Coalfields
A growing carceral state has slowly replaced the coal industry in large swaths of Central Appalachia. But even here, a different future is possible.
Media
The Journalist Advocate
Since the days of Ferguson, I’ve used my editorial perch to amplify the voices of those crushed by our nation’s system of wealth extraction. If that also makes me an ally, so be it.
interventions
Building Bridges
There’s a direct link between the penal system and community wellbeing. Here’s why, and how, I decided to teach that connection to a group of public-health students.
A closer look
Community Spread
People in counties with higher jail populations are getting sicker and dying younger. The data shows that mass incarceration is playing a role.
interventions
A Safer Cleveland
Our movement was born out of our shared grief. Our voices reminded voters that the police should never police themselves.
Past, Present & Future of Mass Incarceration
In Depth
Mass Clemency
In the age of mass incarceration, the president of can and should lead the nation by freeing from prison as many people as possible.
As Told To
Surviving Everywhere
Clemency gave me a chance to tell my truth — a truth the criminal legal system made invisible.
public health
Treating Unfreedom
Practicing correctional medicine is fundamentally an exercise in harm reduction. And it’s no match for freedom itself.
Institutions
Too Little, Too Late
The bureaucracy in charge of parole in Georgia hasn’t kept up with the reality that the state’s prison system is a hotbed of death and despair.
interventions
Seeing the Light
We can’t end mass incarceration without first ending solitary confinement once and for all.
In Depth
Saving Austin
Emboldened reactionaries tried to get voters to super-fund our city’s police force. But we out-organized them, and they lost badly. Here’s how we did it.
interventions
More Than a Number
Older New Yorkers are dying in state prison at an alarming rate. Once and for all, they need to come home to their families.
Decarceral Pathways
From Crisis to Care
For alternative responses to policing to work and reduce the footprint of the criminal legal system, they must work in concert and holistically to address both immediate and longer-term social needs.
ELSEWHERE on INQUEST
Reflections
A Disruptive Innovation
Institutions
Making Penal Bureaucrats
In Depth
Carceral Wisdom
Big Data
The Feature Is the Bug
Essay
Radicalized at the Workhouse
Crimmigration
The Border State
excerpt
Copaganda
voices
Divide and Conquer
In Depth
Follow the Science
beginnings
welcome to inquest
a forum for advancing bold ideas to end mass incarceration
Our Mission
Is to create a space where the voices of those doing the hard thinking and work of decarceration can come together to share ideas and be heard.
A Note From Our Founding Editors
On why Inquest exists, and what we hope it will help to achieve.
What we are reading
The Inquest bookshelf
America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence
By Elizabeth Hinton
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation
By Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
“Prisons Make Us Safer” and 20 Other Myths About Mass Incarceration
By Victoria Law
Privilege and Punishment: How Race and Class Matter in Criminal Court
By Matthew Clair
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