August 22, 2014

To clarify what Riley's saying in panel two: Kieselburg's police force is notoriously corrupt, but their corruption typically falls in the bribery-and-petty-extortion range. Jail executions at police hands -- sometimes due to bribery from an outside party, more often of cop-killers and similarly problematic inmates -- did happen, but they were uncommon. Then Tom Thorn's business gained a foothold, and a virtual epidemic of inmate deaths followed. The police did not actually carry out most of the executions (those were entrusted to other, loyal inmates), but the alarming number of deaths, the bad press, and the effect on the government's struggles to contain Thorn's burgeoning underground empire meant draconian punishments were put in place for any police officer involved in an inmate death. Ironically, this only mildly incovenienced those it was meant to stop -- jail is, to this day, no proof against Thorn's wrath for those who cross him -- but it has kept the already-small number of police willing to collaborate in executions to a very bare minimum.

Update! Whoo! I don't know that I'll be able to get more than one up next week -- I am still playing catch-up on life, and I've hit a bit of a plot snarl -- but I am officially at least somewhat back on track.