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Life Sentences

Two men wearing black uniforms clasp their hands behind their backs as they walk through a fenced pathway.
Closing Argument February 1
How the U.S. Turned Away From the Death Penalty and Toward ‘Death by Incarceration’
The number of people imprisoned for life continues to climb, even as the overall prison population declines.
By
Left: Mark Jones, serving life without parole in a Florida prison. Right: Incarcerated women at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama.
News and Awards August 29, 2023
Watch the Trailer for ‘Two Strikes’ and ‘Tutwiler’
The Marshall Project and Frontline’s short prison documentaries will air on PBS and can be streamed online.
By The Marshall Project
An illustration shows a yellow silhouette hunched over as it lifts a large eye, against a grunge blue and yellow background.
Violation April 19, 2023
‘Mass Supervision’: Out of Prison, But Not the System
Part Five of the “Violation” podcast follows Jacob Wideman on home arrest and examines conditions faced by millions on parole or probation in the U.S.
By
An illustration shows a yellow silhouette of a person using one arm to hang from a floating striped heart against a grunge purple and yellow background
Violation April 12, 2023
‘Heart Tests’: Finding Life (and Love) Behind Bars
Part Four of the “Violation” podcast follows Jacob Wideman as he confronts his mental health, navigates romance, and faces a skeptical parole board.
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Violation April 5, 2023
‘A Trap for the Unwary’: The Power and Paradox of Parole Boards
Part Three of the “Violation” podcast examines America’s opaque parole system and how Jacob Wideman prepared to argue for his release.
By
Violation March 29, 2023
‘Bad Seed’: Two Generations, Two Terrible Crimes
Part Two of the “Violation” podcast explores whether violence runs in families and what should happen to kids who commit murder.
By
Violation March 22, 2023
A Summer Camp Murder. Two Sons, Lost.
The premiere of “Violation,” a podcast from The Marshall Project and WBUR, examines the decades-long ripple effects of an inexplicable crime.
By
A podcast logo set atop a blurry blue and yellow background. In the logo, a yellow figure balances on top of a tightrope made out of barbed wire. Below, in all caps: “Violation.”
Violation March 8, 2023
Introducing ‘Violation,’ a Podcast From The Marshall Project and WBUR
Violence. Power. Privilege. The series explores these themes through one case — and pulls back the curtain on the secretive world of parole boards.
By
Feature March 2, 2023
The Mercy Workers
For three decades, a little-known group of “mitigation specialists” has helped save death-penalty defendants by documenting their childhood traumas. A rare look inside one case.
By
An illustration shows Bobby Bostic, a Black man, opening a refrigerator door. Light shines out of the refrigerator. Photos of family are on the side of the refrigerator. A white dove flies above, and the background shows a pattern of leaves and plants.
Life Inside February 24, 2023
I Was Sentenced to Die in Prison. But After 27 Years, I’m Finally Free
When I went to jail in 1995, I had never used the internet. As I play catchup, the simplest things are everything.
By Bobby Bostic
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