2025 | Editorial
| Professional
- Why did you create this work?
The Hardest Case for Mercy follows a mitigation team's effort to spare the Parkland shooter from the death penalty. Dadu Shin's illustrations, reminiscent of an ultrasound, explore unanswerable questions: Who gets to be a victim? Who deserves mercy? Twin scenes—Cruz’s birth mother drinking while pregnant vs. Cruz sipping an ICEE post-massacre—underscore the piece’s themes. - How were your illustrations used?
The illustrations highlight key moments through mirrored scenes—doors knocked on by the mitigation team vs. a door where a victim was killed, an ultrasound beside a brain scan diagnosing fetal alcohol syndrome. Set against textured, semitransparent paper, the art reflects across pages, emphasizing the jury's task of parsing evidence and the story’s central themes of fate and consequence. - What materials and techniques did you use?
Illustrations were created using ballpoint pen layered on textured, semitransparent paper, and Photoshop. The aesthetic reinforces the themes of fate and culpability. The mirrored placement of illustrations across the pages deepens the reader’s engagement with the dualities explored in the piece. - Was this project commissioned?
Commissioned - Commissioner Name
Elan Ullendorff and Jovelle Tamayo - Commissioner Company
The Marshall Project - Commissioner Instagram
@marshallproj - Who was the work commissioned for?
The Marshall Project - Personal Website or Portfolio Link
dadushin.com/
- Instagram
@dadushin - Biography
Dadu Shin was born and raised in Massachusetts. After attending the Rhode Island School of Design(RISD), he moved to New York City and is now working as a freelance illustrator. He has worked for such clients as The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Plansponsor, and Simon & Schuster. - Where are you currently based?
United States of America (USA)
