Max Blau

Georgia is planning for its first execution in two years this month. But how the state carries out the death penalty is largely a secret. I’ve obtained records that provide new information — and raise new questions — about its lethal injection process. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/geor...

The state’s Corrections Department and attorney general’s office declined to comment on this story. Here’s what they had to say in the past.

Georgia is planning for its first execution in two years this month. But how the state carries out the death penalty is largely a secret. I’ve obtained records that provide new information — and raise new questions — about its lethal injection process. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/geor...

Among the discoveries: Georgia has made payments of more than $1.1 million since the COVID-19 pandemic for at least one contractor to work with the Corrections Department on its lethal injection process. During that period, the state carried out just a single execution.

Georgia is planning for its first execution in two years this month. But how the state carries out the death penalty is largely a secret. I’ve obtained records that provide new information — and raise new questions — about its lethal injection process. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/geor...

Secrecy laws shield the public from awareness of the growing costs of making drugs and administering the injections. Legal experts say those costs reflect the challenges that officials face in finding help with carrying out lethal injections, which can subject prisoners to torturous levels of pain.

Georgia is planning for its first execution in two years this month. But how the state carries out the death penalty is largely a secret. I’ve obtained records that provide new information — and raise new questions — about its lethal injection process. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/geor...

The role Musso held is so controversial that more than a dozen states have made it illegal to disclose the names of those involved with lethal injections. Georgia is among them.

Georgia is planning for its first execution in two years this month. But how the state carries out the death penalty is largely a secret. I’ve obtained records that provide new information — and raise new questions — about its lethal injection process. 🧵 www.propublica.org/article/geor...

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

Instead, you’d have to embark on a maddening quest, like I did, to find the source of your grocery store blueberries. H/T to @zisiga.bsky.social (design), Mauricio Rodríguez Pons (videos) and Shoshana Gordon (visuals): projects.propublica.org/blueberries-...

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

Fruits and vegetables from those farms are labeled with a green sticker of a woman holding a basket of tomatoes. When I’ve found produce with these stickers in my grocery stores, they don’t cost measurably more than others without the label.

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

So if you’re not an investigative reporter, how can you know if the people picking your fruit are being mistreated? I spoke with experts who said the gold standard for preventing worker abuse is the Fair Food Program: www.propublica.org/article/h-2a...

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

This wasn’t the first case of the abuse of farmworkers at the hands of labor contractors. Or the last. Many of these harms might have been prevented if the workers had received the protections they were promised by the U.S. government. www.propublica.org/article/h-2a...

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

I had written about the case, which revealed that thousands of farmworkers were illegally charged fees by labor contractors to work in the U.S. Some were forced to work for little to no pay in what prosecutors described as a form of modern-day slavery. projects.propublica.org/h2a-visa-far...

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

You might find the location where the berries are grown/distributed. But not the farm. To keep up with demand, and to help keep prices low, a brand will buy berries from a whole bunch of farms and sell them under one label. Here’s an illustration of where you’d find that info.

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

So I set out to investigate where the blueberries I buy come from — and if those farms have a record of mistreating workers. projects.propublica.org/blueberries-...

I’ve reported at length about abuses of foreign farmworkers who come to the U.S. on H-2A visas: stolen wages, guns pointed in their faces. One woman I met was kidnapped, raped and nearly killed. I wanted to know: How do I tell if the produce I buy is part of the problem? 👇

If you haven't had the chance to read @propublica.org's story about Congressman Mike Collins — who's running for U.S. Senate in Georgia — you can check out a video recap of our story here. www.youtube.com/shorts/koUA_...