Episode
The Sunday Read: 'Why Was Joshua Held for More Than Two Years for Someone Else’s Crimes?'
48:05
Published: Sun Aug 07 2022
Description
The more he insisted that his name was Joshua, the more delusional he came to be seen.Journalist Robert Kolker tells us the remarkable story of Joshua Spriestersbach, a homeless man who wound up serving more than two years in a Honolulu jail for crimes committed by someone else.It was a case of mistaken identity that developed into “a slow-motion game of hot potato between the police, the courts, the jails and the hospitals,” Mr. Kolker writes. He delves into how homelessness and mental illness shaped Mr. Spriestersbach’s adult life, two factors that led him into a situation in which he had little control — a bureaucratic wormhole that commandeered and consumed two and a half years of his life.This story was written by Robert Kolker and recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.
Chapters
Joshua Spriestersbach was wrongfully arrested and sent to a psychiatric hospital due to a case of mistaken identity.
00:00 - 01:43 (01:43)
Summary
Joshua Spriestersbach was wrongfully arrested and sent to a psychiatric hospital due to a case of mistaken identity. He was eventually released after one hospital worker discovered the truth by looking up his past records.
EpisodeThe Sunday Read: 'Why Was Joshua Held for More Than Two Years for Someone Else’s Crimes?'
PodcastThe Daily
America's mental health care system has long failed to provide meaningful care to individuals with severe mental illnesses, resulting in many cycling through jails, mental health facilities, and the court system.
01:43 - 15:14 (13:30)
Summary
America's mental health care system has long failed to provide meaningful care to individuals with severe mental illnesses, resulting in many cycling through jails, mental health facilities, and the court system. The closure and downsizing of state mental hospitals have turned jails and prisons into the largest de facto mental health holding facilities, with medication failing to change outcomes for those with severe mental illnesses, perpetuating the crisis of homelessness and mental illness in the US.
EpisodeThe Sunday Read: 'Why Was Joshua Held for More Than Two Years for Someone Else’s Crimes?'
PodcastThe Daily
Homeless people with mental illness oftentimes lack access to proper healthcare, causing them to either be incarcerated, ignored, or passed through a revolving door from one agency to the next.
15:14 - 25:25 (10:10)
Summary
Homeless people with mental illness oftentimes lack access to proper healthcare, causing them to either be incarcerated, ignored, or passed through a revolving door from one agency to the next.
EpisodeThe Sunday Read: 'Why Was Joshua Held for More Than Two Years for Someone Else’s Crimes?'
PodcastThe Daily
A man identified as Thomas Spreestersbach was wrongfully arrested for 17 years in Alaska after being mistakenly identified as another man with the same first name.
25:26 - 33:01 (07:35)
Summary
A man identified as Thomas Spreestersbach was wrongfully arrested for 17 years in Alaska after being mistakenly identified as another man with the same first name. Despite his efforts to tell jail officers that they had the wrong person, he was continuously put in jail until the mistake was finally discovered in 2019.
EpisodeThe Sunday Read: 'Why Was Joshua Held for More Than Two Years for Someone Else’s Crimes?'
PodcastThe Daily
Emily Bazelon speaks with Audrey Levitin and Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve about their work at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, which seeks to exonerate people who were wrongfully convicted.
33:02 - 39:39 (06:36)
Summary
Emily Bazelon speaks with Audrey Levitin and Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve about their work at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, which seeks to exonerate people who were wrongfully convicted.
EpisodeThe Sunday Read: 'Why Was Joshua Held for More Than Two Years for Someone Else’s Crimes?'
PodcastThe Daily
A homeless man was admitted to a psychiatric hospital under a false name, revealing gaps in the system and leaving multiple institutions and individuals at fault for failing to catch the mistake.
39:39 - 46:45 (07:06)
Summary
A homeless man was admitted to a psychiatric hospital under a false name, revealing gaps in the system and leaving multiple institutions and individuals at fault for failing to catch the mistake.
EpisodeThe Sunday Read: 'Why Was Joshua Held for More Than Two Years for Someone Else’s Crimes?'
PodcastThe Daily
This transcript is a collection of disparate topics, including reminiscence about a block where one could sleep under the eaves and musings on how he chose the name William or Wolfgang for his Castleberry identity.
46:46 - 47:32 (00:45)
Summary
This transcript is a collection of disparate topics, including reminiscence about a block where one could sleep under the eaves and musings on how he chose the name William or Wolfgang for his Castleberry identity.