The Gutting of the 8th Amendment

Business Insider's investigation revealed that prisoners won only 11 of 1,488 cases analyzed. The visual framework transforms this stark finding into visceral narrative through art direction and interactive design.

DGFX commissioned illustrator Matt Rota to create a prison block tableau designed specifically for animation—100 cells cast in institutional fluorescence, individual figures suspended in a common area limbo. The custom header takeover orchestrates a progressive darkening: layered transparent PNGs extinguish cell lights one by one as users scroll, each prisoner's silhouette fading into shadow. The dwindling illumination becomes metaphor—each extinguished light marks another barrier in the gauntlet toward justice.

GSAP animation choreographs the scroll progression, camera movements panning and zooming through Rota's architectural space to guide the eye from figure to doomed figure. Svelte-based deployment maintains the experience across devices. Accompanying data visualizations quantify the barriers: 25% of cases fail from the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 49% under the "deliberate indifference" standard, while wardens and medical directors escape accountability in the vast majority of suits.

Above: Rota's illustrated prison block commissioned for progressive extinguishment; Layered PNG technique controlling the dimming choreography; Camera movement directing attention through the architectural space; Data graphics mapping the dismissal cascade.