Exposed: Documenting COVID-19 in the Criminal Justice System

Sharon Daniel, an artist and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, examines the impact of COVID-19 on American inmates in Exposed: Documenting COVID-19 in the Criminal Justice System, an interactive online documentary. Through a haunting timeline composed of prisoner and family quotes, along with audio clips and statistics from publications and broadcasts, Daniel immerses viewers in the dire conditions faced by prisoners during the pandemic. The timeline allows users to move slowly through the statements, displayed in large white text against a black background, while ambient music amplifies the oppressive atmosphere of incarceration during this crisis. Daniel uses inmate testimonies, such as that of Lauren Johnson in Texas—who lost phone and recreation privileges for attempting to use hand sanitizer—to illustrate the contradictions within a system that punishes yet is compelled to protect prisoners from the virus. The work reveals overcrowded, unsafe environments where inmates face life-threatening illness without adequate care. EXPOSED emphasizes the systemic injustices within the American prison system and advocates for the dignity and humanity of incarcerated individuals, questioning whether punishment can ever serve as a true form of justice.