Inquest

Carceral AI is here. It’s time to fight back. - Dasha Pruss - Inquest Facial recognition is just the tip of the iceberg. Today, AI is being used to monitor social media, track ICE targets, and classify swaths of the population as “future” criminals.

"Carceral AI is not a futuristic threat—it is a present-day reality, a logical extension of a system built to surveil and punish marginalized communities." Philosopher Dasha Pruss on how AI is worsening the crisis of mass incarceration.

Carceral AI is here. It’s time to fight back. - Dasha Pruss - Inquest Facial recognition is just the tip of the iceberg. Today, AI is being used to monitor social media, track ICE targets, and classify swaths of the population as “future” criminals.

"With the meteoric rise of AI, the U.S. criminal legal system has embraced the technology’s promise to streamline or automate traditionally human tasks under the logic of penal reform. But AI has worsened the system’s injustices." Dasha Pruss

Quote card with dark blue and red background. Quote is from Spencer Piston's Inquest article "The ICE Professionalization Trap": "The emphasis on professionalization portrays police violence not as a moral failure but as a proceduralist failure. As a result, discussions about the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have become contorted into debates about whether the police who killed them followed protocol."

This week, Inquest covered the woefully misguided efforts to reform immigration policing and the exploitative reliance of temp agencies on formerly incarcerated people. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...

Carceral Political Economy Conference 2026 - Inquest Inquest is cosponsoring this year’s Carceral Political Economy Conference at The New School for Social Research, New York City, March 27–28, 2026.

Today is the last day to submit presentation proposals! Conference attendance is free but registration is required. Get all the details:

“I Was Just a Body” - Maya Ragsdale - Inquest Temp agencies rely on a constant stream of formerly incarcerated workers to keep jobs unstable and wages low.

"Decarceral and labor organizing are inseparable." —Maya Ragsdale of Beyond the Bars on how the temp labor market exploits formerly incarcerated people, to the detriment of all workers.

“I Was Just a Body” - Maya Ragsdale - Inquest Temp agencies rely on a constant stream of formerly incarcerated workers to keep jobs unstable and wages low.

For formerly incarcerated people with work requirements, "the carceral system and the temp industry reinforce one another," keeping recently freed people stuck in risky, low-paying jobs under threat of reincarceration. Maya Ragsdale of Beyond the Bars on the "temp trap":

The ICE Reformation Trap - Spencer Piston - Inquest Professionalization will not make immigration policing less violent. It will only increase its capacity, authority, and scope.

"An emphasis on professionalization portrays high-profile incidents of police violence not as moral failures but as proceduralist failures. The problem is located not in the violence itself but in the procedures that were (or weren’t) followed surrounding the violence."

Carceral Political Economy Conference 2026 - Inquest Inquest is cosponsoring this year’s Carceral Political Economy Conference at The New School for Social Research, New York City, March 27–28, 2026.

We're cosponsoring this year’s Carceral Political Economy Conference at The New School for Social Research, NYC, March 27–28. Register to attend (it's free!) and *UNTIL FRIDAY* submit presentation proposals.

The ICE Reformation Trap - Spencer Piston - Inquest Professionalization will not make immigration policing less violent. It will only increase its capacity, authority, and scope.

"The appeal of [police] reforms lies in their seductive promise to get it right next time: to enact violence only under a predetermined and legitimate set of circumstances." Spencer Piston on why immigration policing can't be fixed with professionalization, only worsened.

The Movement Media Alliance condemns the targeting of journalists We call on news organizations, civil liberties groups, elected officials, and the public to speak out and reaffirm that journalism must not be criminalized.

"It is not illegal to record and report on what people in power would rather keep hidden."

“One Minute Remaining” - Shebri Dillon - Inquest As an incarcerated mother, I have fought to remain in my children’s lives. I’ve done everything I could—and it still wasn’t enough.

As an incarcerated mother, I have fought to remain in my children’s lives. I’ve done everything I could—and it still wasn’t enough. Story via @inquest.bsky.social.

Quote card from Cynthia Godsoe and Anna Belle Newport's Inquest article "The Myth of Pro-Family America": "Money, like race, has always been at the heart of the intertwined projects of natalism and family policing. Tech bros tout large families as a status symbol [while] poor families are punished for having children or even prevented from doing so."

This week Inquest published first-person testimony on how prisons break families and debunked the racist natalism of Trump's enablers. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...

“One Minute Remaining” - Shebri Dillon - Inquest As an incarcerated mother, I have fought to remain in my children’s lives. I’ve done everything I could—and it still wasn’t enough.

"No matter how hard I have fought to maintain this relationship with my kids, only the shell remains. We are going to have to get to know each other again, and grieve the losses of what we can never get back." Shebri Dillon being an incarcerated mom

“One Minute Remaining” - Shebri Dillon - Inquest As an incarcerated mother, I have fought to remain in my children’s lives. I’ve done everything I could—and it still wasn’t enough.

"I am a mother of four children. I had no prior convictions and I was facing nonviolent charges, so no one ever thought that, 9 years later, I would in prison parenting in 20-minute intervals, the maximum length of a prison phone call in Virginia." —Shebri Dillon, VA mother

The Myth of Pro-Family America - Cynthia Godsoe & Anna Belle Newport - Inquest Trump’s allies incite moral panic about shrinking white families, even as the state dismantles families of color—a paradox rooted in slavery and eugenics.

"Not surprisingly to any parent, research shows that the most effective way to help families—far more than parenting classes, awards, or punitive surveillance—is to give them material resources." —Cynthia Godsoe
& Anna Belle Newport

The Myth of Pro-Family America - Cynthia Godsoe & Anna Belle Newport - Inquest Trump’s allies incite moral panic about shrinking white families, even as the state dismantles families of color—a paradox rooted in slavery and eugenics.

"While the state pushes a pronatalism and anti-abortion agenda, it also punishes some families for having children at all. Specifically, white, Christian, heterosexual, marital, and middle-class families are prized, while others are pathologized."

Quote card with black background. Quote is from John J. Lennon's Inquest article "I Want to Find the Connectedness in Everyone": "Unlike other journalists,
I can’t just parachute in, do interviews, then go home.
I live here with my subjects."

This week Inquest interviewed the nation's best-known prison journalist, John J. Lennon, and covered the effort to end felony disenfranchisement in Georgia. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...

“I Want to Find the Connectedness in Everyone.” - John J. Lennon - Inquest The nation’s best-known prison journalist discusses his book ‘The Tragedy of True Crime’ and the challenges faced by those who write from inside.

"Sometimes, people thought I was exposing too much, breaking unwritten codes, or even 'ratting.' Not all the responses were negative, but that’s the feedback you remember." Read more in our interview with famous prison journalist John J. Lennon:

“I Want to Find the Connectedness in Everyone.” - John J. Lennon - Inquest The nation’s best-known prison journalist discusses his book ‘The Tragedy of True Crime’ and the challenges faced by those who write from inside.

"It’s difficult to grapple with a complex news story, then get thrown back into the chaos of prison life, with its constant interruptions and noise." Esquire contributing editor John J. Lennon on the extreme challenges of being an incarcerated journalist:

Ending Felony Disenfranchisement - Page Dukes - Inquest More than half of states do not automatically restore voting rights upon release from prison. A short film contributes to the effort underway in Georgia to end this anti-democratic practice.

"I continue to make films to support our collective work because I want to do what I can to make sure our truths are told whole." Page Dukes — short film on felony disenfranchisement in Georgia streaming for free now:

Ending Felony Disenfranchisement - Page Dukes - Inquest More than half of states do not automatically restore voting rights upon release from prison. A short film contributes to the effort underway in Georgia to end this anti-democratic practice.

"It takes trust and accountability to share and honor each other’s stories without perpetuating the extractive and exploitative practices, intentional or unintentional, we all experience working with conventional news media." Watch Page Dukes 's short film:

Quote card. Background is a blue sky with a pink balloon in the shape of the number "1" floating away. Quote is from the Inquest article "CPS Stole My Children" by Toia Potts: "The system that Child Protective Services uses to justify taking children from families
is designed to vilify parents—especially Black mothers
like me."

This week Inquest shared the story of a life-destroying encounter with child protective services, and exploring the racist history of the U.S. death penalty. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...

CPS Stole My Children - Toia Potts - Inquest When I was falsely accused of abuse, North Carolina took away my sons. I was exonerated but I still may never see them again.

"We are no longer living under slavery, and the government should not be able to steal Black babies away from their families." –Toia Potts, North Carolina mother whose children were taken and *given away* by the state's CPS.

CPS Stole My Children - Toia Potts - Inquest When I was falsely accused of abuse, North Carolina took away my sons. I was exonerated but I still may never see them again.

"Although I was eventually released from jail and all charges against me were dismissed, I still have never had my parental rights reinstated or been reunited with Mansa and Kimoni." Toia Potts's terrifying first-person account of the racist violence of family policing.

As states like Virginia and Washington confront the death penalty's racist legacy, Ngozi Ndulue examines why racial injustice must be central to abolition efforts.

Read this powerful excerpt from "The Slow Death of the Death Penalty" at @inquest.bsky.social

What Is the Role of the Prison Journalist? - Phillip Vance Smith II - Inquest A former editor-in-chief of a prison newspaper examines the responsibility of prison journalists, the constraints they work under, and why reporting from inside matters.

Wonderful read.

“Prison newspapers exist to give the incarcerated information and news they can use...But they also need us to examine prison policies and publish solutions-based journalism that the mainstream media might report on one time, but ultimately doesn’t care about." @inquest.bsky.social

The Racist Roots of the Death Penalty - Ngozi Ndulue - Inquest Racial injustice was central to the establishment of the U.S. death penalty. Ending racial injustice must be central to its abolition.

"The youngest children sentenced to death in U.S. history were African American and Native American boys." Ngozi Ndulue offers a moving history of racial injustice, a preview of 'The Slow Death of the Death Penalty' from NYU Press

What Is the Role of the Prison Journalist? - Phillip Vance Smith II - Inquest A former editor-in-chief of a prison newspaper examines the responsibility of prison journalists, the constraints they work under, and why reporting from inside matters.

What Is the Role of the Prison Journalist? Story via @inquest.bsky.social.

Quote card with black background. Quote is from Phillip Vance Smith II’s Inquest article "What Is the Role of the Prison Journalist?": "Many editors simply don’t see prison journalists as journalists at all, and because we are affected by the very issues we report on, many mistake our proximity for bias."

This week, Inquest learned from the experiences of a former editor-in-chief of a prison newspaper, and heard about the experiences of studying mass incarceration as an undergrad when you have a formerly incarcerated father. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...

What Is the Role of the Prison Journalist? - Phillip Vance Smith II - Inquest A former editor-in-chief of a prison newspaper examines the responsibility of prison journalists, the constraints they work under, and why reporting from inside matters.

"In 2024, I was transferred without requesting it. Numerous staff members told me of the warden’s displeasure with my writing. Prison officials couldn’t infringe on my 1st Amendment right to free speech, but they could subject me to what [they] call 'diesel therapy.'"