04 - The Walls of Huntsville

In the middle of the otherwise charming town of Huntsville, Texas, blocks away from antique shops and the public library, you’ll find the oldest prison in the state. And behind those tall redbrick walls and guard towers lies the busiest execution chamber in the United States.

It’s like there’s two parallel worlds here. In one, the residents of town walk around freely. In another, on the other side of these walls, a whole population lives out of sight. In fact a quarter of the people living here are in prison.

But for about an hour every weekday, a rift opens up between these two worlds.

Photo by Ellen Leathers-Wishart

This episode was edited by Mira Burt-Wintonick

The theme song was composed by myself, additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Yoshi Fields, Skyler Inman, and the Sou’wester Lodge in Seaview, WA. I spent some time there working on this story as part of their Artist Residency program.

Big thanks to my friend Ellen Leathers-Wishart. Check out her amazing tintype portraits.