End the Exception Digital Letter Archive

About This Project

Summary

800,000 people are currently subjected to forced labor in U.S. prisons. The reason: An exception in the Constitution that allows for the continuation of slavery for those with criminal legal involvement. This project—launched Labor Day 2024 allows the general public — for the first time at anything close to this scale — to learn about prison labor through hand written accounts from hundreds experiencing slavery in prison leveraging cutting-edge archival technology with original illustrations.

Goals & Objectives

The goals were of course to shine a bright light on a dark and often silenced area of our criminal legal system that few know about, but most are outraged about when they learn more. Even more so, the project sought to build a platform for currently incarcerated people to share their experiences.

Results & Impact

Hundreds of incarcerated people were able to share their experiences and realities through letters that were then filtered, transcribed, and made fully searchable. The site was built to be flexible to allow for additions and more are pouring in. Hundreds of thousands of views. Coverage on NowThis.