well-fed + well-read. | staff writer @themarshallproject.org - jackson 🦬 howard alumna 📍mississippihttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3mufc6s6fps2mIn the history of Mississippi's Parchman prison, music is inextricable from its brutal legacy. I attended a concert of the newly-revived Parchman Band at the GRAMMY museum and met some talented musicians. Here's my dispatch, for @themarshallproject.org. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/08/28/music-band-prison-redemption-concert-parchman31 Aug 2026 16:10 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3mufc6s6fps2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3mnuo2eswrc2vAfter 20 years in solitary confinement and an overturned death sentence, Quintez Hodges died by hanging in 2021. “This is not a fucking suicide. They were killing this man," Joesph Patri Brown told me from death row. @themarshallproject.org https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/06/09/mississippi-prison-solitary-suicide-risk09 Jun 2026 16:56 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnuo2eswrc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3mnuo2eswrc2vAfter 20 years in solitary confinement and an overturned death sentence, Quintez Hodges died by hanging in 2021. “This is not a fucking suicide. They were killing this man," Joesph Patri Brown told me from death row. @themarshallproject.org https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/06/09/mississippi-prison-solitary-suicide-risk09 Jun 2026 16:56 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnuo2eswrc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3mns5sezi4k2gDenise Short, 21, pleaded for help. Instead, she was sent to solitary confinement, where she died by suicide. Despite a legion of evidence of its harms, solitary confinement was the common factor in nearly 75% of suicides in Mississippi prisons since 2015. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/06/08/mississippi-prison-solitary-confinement-suicide08 Jun 2026 16:59 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3mns5sezi4k2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3mfmjwcljrs26Mississippi prison officials told Mary Anderson her uncle died of a heart attack while incarcerated. A year later, the FBI is investigating his death as a homicide. He was reportedly beaten to death by prison guards. My latest for @themarshallproject.org https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/02/24/mississippi-prison-beating-death-investigation24 Feb 2026 15:59 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfmjwcljrs26https://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3mdgquhtkls2tIn 1962, JFK used the Insurrection Act — an emergency power typically used to uphold civil rights & stop violent uprisings — to end a White supremacist uprising at Ole Miss. Years later, Trump wanted to use it differently, unleashing troops on Minnesotans. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/01/27/insurrection-act-trump-mississippi-riot27 Jan 2026 21:57 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdgquhtkls2thttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3m7b37irc3c27Dozens have been locked up in Hinds County for >3 months with no indictment, a critical step in getting to trial. Many of them are crammed into Raymond Detention Center, where a man was killed this year. One man has been locked up for 18 months. My latest: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/05/hinds-county-jail-no-indictments05 Dec 2025 18:05 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7b37irc3c27https://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3m3arqyokxc2iAfter our reporting on 43 prison homicides, MDOC commissioner Burl Cain said the dept will review the more than two dozen unprosecuted killings, as well as deaths of undetermined causes that have happened withinin prison walls since 2015. To read more: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/14/mississippi-prison-homicides-investigation?fbclid=IwdGRleANcuplleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlSs8UMVqyR2Hvmi4LoiEPsbb0BIapVI7PZ_tFqtbKI1MYcPBJ2qK4NA8BnN_aem_gozF-ee7zsG8GiPFwptiIQ15 Oct 2025 17:35 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3arqyokxc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3m2rjknisgc2uFilth, dysfunction and extortion. "It's the wild, wild west in there," Tedrick Francois told me after spending time in Raymond Detention Center. People awaiting trial there sleep alongside mice, have limited access to laundry, and must pay to use a toilet. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/09/jail-conditions-hygiene-cleveland-jackson-st-louis09 Oct 2025 15:59 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2rjknisgc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3m25iw73frk2oToday, a receiver took over Hinds County's Raymond Detention Center. People detained there shared stories of being held in cells covered with mold and feces and sleeping on floors. At least 6 died there this year, including a murder & drug overdose. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/01/mississippi-hinds-county-jail-receivership01 Oct 2025 16:54 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3m25iw73frk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3lzo5hmfbrc23At 10 a.m., Mina and I will be answering questions about our investigation into homicides in Mississippi prisons. Join us here: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1nq5ucv/at_least_43_people_have_been_killed_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button25 Sep 2025 14:19 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzo5hmfbrc23https://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3lynpv2y2xs24“No one deserves to die like this." At least *43* people have been killed in Mississippi prisons since 2015. Poor staffing, lax oversight and gangs who rule by violence make it easier for killings to go unchecked. Read more: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/09/11/mississippi-prisons-killings-deaths12 Sep 2025 16:51 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3lynpv2y2xs24https://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3lp5c4yx4sc2rPolice killed Phillip Gibbs, 21, and James Earl Green, 17, & wounded several others #OTD in 1970 at Jackson State & got away with it. 55 years later, the DOJ is investigating, but turmoil at the dept. could threaten what may be a last attempt at justice. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/05/14/jackson-state-civil-rights-shootings14 May 2025 15:15 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp5c4yx4sc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/dajaehenry.com/post/3lp5c4yx4sc2rPolice killed Phillip Gibbs, 21, and James Earl Green, 17, & wounded several others #OTD in 1970 at Jackson State & got away with it. 55 years later, the DOJ is investigating, but turmoil at the dept. could threaten what may be a last attempt at justice. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/05/14/jackson-state-civil-rights-shootings14 May 2025 15:15 +0000at://did:plc:chyjlzxdaaxis6bs6gxcc6us/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp5c4yx4sc2r