This podcast episode narrates the story of JJ Harper, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder for 39 years, and his lawyer, Kimberly Cook, who finally got him exonerated, although the prosecution tried to withhold evidence and twist the facts of the case against them.
Jason launched a campaign to help JJ Velazquez, who he believed was innocent, to win freedom through executive clemency with the help of Steve Zeidman, a professor at CUNY Law School who runs the Second Look Project to assist incarcerated individuals with their clemency petitions.
This podcast episode explores the process and misunderstandings around clemency. It discusses how having an advocate can significantly increase the chances of receiving clemency and how it can be granted regardless of guilt.
An inmate at a New York correctional facility, who is isolated in his cell due to the COVID-19 pandemic, speaks about the fear and anxiety he and others are facing during this time.
The speaker shares their experience of feeling unsafe in prison during the COVID-19 pandemic and compares it to the fear experienced during 9/11. They describe taking precautions such as bleaching their cell and feeling a constant sense of unease around other incarcerated individuals.