William Nash, a cook from Georgia, was only 16 when he died working at a brutal convict work camp in Sugar Land. Nash had been convicted in 1892 of property theft and sentenced to four years in prison. He died from brain congestion, which could’ve stemmed from a traumatic brain injury. Esau Powell, a farm laborer, was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison after his conviction for stealing a gelding horse valued at $60. He never completed his sentence, dying of chronic diarrhea at age 32. Nash and Powell are believed to be among the 95 African Americans whose remains were discovered in 2018 at a Fort Bend ISD construction site. As the community has debated the site’s future and how to honor those who perished, little has been known about those buried there except that they were likely part of Texas’ notorious convict-leasing system — until now. This month, Fort Bend ISD released a 500-page report providing more information about the discovery and tentatively identifying 72 of those believed to be buried there. “It is heartbreaking that the Sugar Land 95 were previously forgotten, left in an abandoned cemetery that lay hidden for decades,” Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Charles Dupre said in a news release. “Educating our community and bringing awareness to their plight will ensure that they — and the injustices they suffered — are never again forgotten.” The University of Connecticut is currently overseeing DNA analysis of the remains in order to make positive identifications. Researchers hope their analysis and intensive genealogical investigation will allow them to find descendants. The university has launched a permanent fund to support the costs. “The records used to create this list...