Finding Light in the Dark

Finding Light in the Dark

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Lifelong Friends on Death Row

When Jarvis Masters first entered the walls of San Quentin State Prison four decades ago, he was by his own admission angry and bitter, filled with vitriol pent up from a lifetime of abuse, neglect, and hopelessness. Were it not for the foresight and compassion of a singular woma ...  Show more

Buddhist Chaplain on Death Row

There is an adage made popular in 1954 by President Eisenhower, that there are “no atheists in a fox hole.” The idea behind the phrase is that anyone who finds themselves in position of extreme stress, where death is all but imminent, he or she will seek comfort of a higher power ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

A Death in Soundview
Doing Justice

In this first episode of Doing Justice, Preet Bharara's six-part adaptation of his bestselling book, Preet recounts the case of Eric Glisson, who was sentenced to 25 to life for a murder he didn’t commit. Seventeen years into his sentence, an SDNY investigator discovered that som ...  Show more

How to save a murderer
Today, Explained

Should past trauma prevent a convicted killer from being executed? The Marshall Project’s Maurice Chammah reports on “mitigation specialists” who try to save the lives of death row inmates by investigating their histories. This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Jol ...  Show more

Capital Punishment
Flightless Bird

David Farrier heads to Missouri two days out from the execution of Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. He embeds with “Missourians To Abolish the Death Penalty” who are desperately trying to petition Missouri Governor Mike Parson for a stay. Along the way he meets locals who feel pas ...  Show more