After the news about Pike broke, Prison Journalism Project editors reached out to contributors and asked for their thoughts and stories about capital punishment.
Trevor Reese, from Louisiana, argued that the death penalty is arbitrary. Cesar Hernandez remembered how strange it was to be served uncharacteristically good food on execution day in his Texas prison. Lucretia Stone, from New Jersey, questioned whether we humans should be the ones to decide when someone lives or dies.
At least two writers, both from Tennessee, attempted to send dispatches over an e-communications platform. Both said their writings were censored. One of them was able to call an editor and dictate his reflections over the phone. The second writer said she would send her work via postal mail. PJP did not receive it by publication time, but will update this story if it arrives.
The United States accounts for approximately 25% of the world’s prison population while representing only about 5% of the global population.
Land of the free
