CHANG: And when you became a free man - I mean, let's just think about this. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. At Graterford State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, Suave joined the largest population of juvenile lifers in the countrymen considered by the justice system to be irredeemable for acts committed when they were just teenagers. He was eventually let out of prison in 2017, after being locked up in 1988 for a crime he committed as a 17-year-old. About Us | Death By Incarceration Podcast In 2018 she was a Fellow at Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and is a frequent speaker across the country. Can you just talk a little bit about that? Martinelli previously wrote for CBS-46 in Atlanta, the Gwinnett Daily Post, and the Atlanta Latino Newspaper. He been feature on Latino USA on NPR, and In The Thick. It's impossible. Podcast 'Suave' Explores 1 Man's Life After His Release From Prison - WFAE Everything she thought she knew about his case turns upside down. And that's good journalism. Lance Reenstierna. DAVID LUIS "SUAVE" GONZALEZ: It hit me almost 10 years later that I have a life sentence, that I'm going to die in prison. HINOJOSA: That's the thing. But I always say that there's - lucky for me, I had someone that was there for me. Career. TheFuturo Studiosproduction team includes executive producer Maria Hinojosa, host and producer Maggie Freleng, reporter and producer Julieta Martinelli, story editor Audrey Quinn, engineer and sound designer Stephanie Lebow, and executive editor Marlon Bishop. When Suave is finally released from prison, he is placed on house arrest and tries to adjust to his new reality while he awaits his chance to plead his case in front of a judge. Fifteen seconds changed my whole life.. At Graterford State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, Suave joined the largest population of juvenile lifers in the countrymen considered by . Do you feel that you are simply a source to Maria, or is there something more? The very last word she said was You can become a voice for the voiceless. And I was just like, Damn, why am I letting this lady mess up my high?. Journalist Maria Hinojosa met David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez in 1993 while speaking at the Graterford State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania. CHANG: And Suave, can you take me back to that moment? She is also a contributor to the long-running, award-winning news program CBS Sunday Morning and a frequent guest on MSNBC. Since 2014, The Marshall Project has been curating some of the best criminal justice reporting from around the web. Weve been through this journey. That moment sparked a transformation in the life of Suave. I began reading every law book, I began learning their system, to the point where I could memorize all of the rules and regulations and pinpoint when they was violating my rights. And I felt like I was breaking that bond. Once on the outside, he tries to continue this way of life. Contact us today about becoming a sponsor! And that's good journalism. It's ugly to say it, but Suave and I knew it, basically - Suave was going to come out in a box. And that someone was Maria. Her stories about immigrant youth, life in prison and what happens after have aired nationally on NPR programs, including Here and Now, Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. 505 likes. The Pulitzer is an example of American excellence. I tried eight times before I passed it. And I trusted her, and I still do. Suave, as he likes to be called, was serving a life sentence without parole for a crime he committed when he was 17 years old. Like to keep doing anything positive, even think about education. She was an NPR Next Generation Radio fellow and 2019 Ford Foundation 50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism fellow. Its amazing to hear his story. "Suave" Podcast from Futuro Studios and PRX Wins A Pulitzer Prize She has been honored with her own day in October by New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and has been recognized by People En Espaol as one of the 25 most powerful Latina women. On the first day of his release, after 31 years in prison, Luis "Suave" Gonzalez was determined to give back to the community. And I want to talk to Maria about that because, Maria, you essentially become a character in this podcast, which is a choice - right? CHANG: You know, Suave, it's really moving to listen to you talk about Maria the way you do and the role that she has played in your life. I can send you a list with hundreds of schools that will offer you correspondence courses for free. We explore the tactics of ruthless prosecutors in the 80s, and how Pennsylvania become the state that sentenced the most juveniles in the country to life in prison without parole. Local New Jersey Obituaries - Legacy.com Additionally, Hinojosa was the first Latina to anchor a PBS FRONTLINE report: Lost in Detention which aired in October 2011 and was the first to explore abuse at immigrant detention facilities, garnering attention from Capitol Hill as well as both the mainstream and Spanish-language media. She has mixed and produced music in a multitude of genres (from jazz to pop) and received an independent music award for her work. Maria learns more about Suaves childhood in the South Bronx and the sudden move that led him to the Badlands of north Philadelphia as a teenager. The story follows David Luis 'Suave' Gonzalez from boy to man, and explores incarceration, redemption, and the often unusual relationship between a journalist and a source. If you aint gonna let me in school, Imma find a job in the educational building where Ill be around that stuff and sooner or later, one of yall gonna let me in. CHANG: You know, Suave, it's really moving to listen to you talk about Maria the way you do and the role that she has played in your life. He taught other inmates how to paint watercolor. While incarcerated, Gonzalez developed a decades-long friendship with journalist Maria Hinojosa. So this is the particular thing about journalists' source - is that it doesn't look like just one thing. Released in 2017 and now in his 50s, the series follows Suave as he transitions to life on the outside and tries to live as a model citizen, yet he soon realizes there are limits to how much freedom he can ever truly have. You know, Im gonna be the baddest dude on the block.. He made his 9 million dollar fortune with Benfica, Chelsea, Paris Saint Germain & Brazil National Squad. How does that sit with you? And Maria Hinojosa is founder of the Futuro Media Group. Originally, she maintained contact in order to have a source inside the prison system. More at hsfoundation.org. CHANG: Now that he has been released from prison, the two of them are sharing their story in a new Futuro Media podcast called "Suave.". She teaches audio reporting at the NYU School of Journalism. It's important that the Latino community knows that these [Esperanza's] resources exist.". I had grandmother, grandfathers, aunt. That's when it hit me. Tim Pilleri . This is like cherry pie to them. I guarantee you nobody saw that coming, bro. I never dreamed that it would be this good. All rights reserved. So thats where me and you gonna disagree at, some dude saying, the DOC didnt let me in, is some bullshit because when your back is against the wall, you got to make a decision: Do I want this education? Northern California As a reporter for NPR, Hinojosa was among the first to report on youth violence in urban communities on a national scale. Get the latest updates on programs and events. Confronting Satan in a Dark Spanish Castle, Three Women in the News Are Setting Fire to an Ancient Trope, Trumps Lawyer Did Him No Favors on Thursday. When you start getting educated in prison, you start seeing yourself in a different light. This is a testament to never giving up on a story and to trusting your producers. But I still didn't believe it to November 20, 2017, when they opened that gate and said, you are a free man. The story follows David Luis Suave Gonzalez from boy to man, and explores incarceration, redemption, and the often unusual relationship between a journalist and a source. Still, Gonzalez eventually fought his way into Villanova Universitys privately funded college program at Graterford Prison, the maximum security facility where he was incarcerated. You know, and I say all the time, in 2017 when I stepped out that prison, not my family, not my community, not my friends - it was Maria Hinojosa that was there waiting for me. Journalist Maria Hinojosa met David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez in 1993 while speaking at the Graterford State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania. Is there a part of you that believes Maria is on your side? That little place right here changed my whole life. I asked the teacher, What the heck is going on in there, a Klan meeting? She was like Nah, its a college program.. I was on a suicide mission. The story leads us back to North Philadelphia in search of someone else who was present the night of the murder. HINOJOSA: Yeah. Me, I say, fuck this jail shit. CHANG: It is fascinating to listen to both of you describe all the complex layers that come into a relationship between journalist and source. Recently, it launched the critically-acclaimed podcasts: Anything For Selena with WBUR, La Brega with WNYC Studios, Norco 80 for LAist Studios, LOUD: The History of Reggaeton with Spotify, and dolo: The Ballad of Chalino Snchez with Sonoro. Shes been invited to discuss her reporting on WBEZs Morning Shift, WAMUs 1A and NPRs Up First podcast. Dehumanized as super-predators, these inmates pay the price for institutionalized racism. David Luis 'Sauve' Gonzalez of "Suave" from Futuro Studios and PRX. A Philadelphia judge sentenced him to life without parole for a crime he committed when he was 17 years old. He had heard Hinojosa on the radio and was intrigued because she was Latina. Fantasy Premier League FPL Lessons: David Luiz wins out in Sarri shake-up. Meanwhile, Maria travels to Philadelphia and Suave anxiously awaits the decision from a judge that could finally grant him the opportunity to experience life on the outside as an adult for the first time. Eddie Gonzalez for Paterson Board of Education. Can you talk about - what does that mean to you? GONZALEZ: And I always tell people, like, we never know who we're going to touch. When I came out, I had basically nobody. GONZALEZ: That I am a human being that committed a mistake, paid for it and still trying to work on myself. The DOC is not there to make it easy for us, bro. You could be the voice for the voiceless.. So to me, education was about fighting the system and changing the law. It tells the remarkable story of David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez. Its nothing but white guys in there. Required fields are marked *. Doesnt matter if you doing good, if you got a job, it doesnt matterit could be snatched up in a heartbeat and theres nothing you could do about it.. Now, Gonzalez is a support coach with I Am More, a reentry program for formerly incarcerated students at Philadelphia Community College. Suave - The Futuro Media Group Open Campus national reporter Charlotte West contributed to this story. At his re-sentencing hearing, Jones told the Court, Im not the same person I was when I was 15 Ive become a pretty decent person in life. You have this dilemma with Suave - trying to keep some journalistic distance from him in the beginning, but then developing a genuine friendship with him, genuine affection. Everything I knew up to that point was as a child in prison. David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez met journalist Maria Hinojosa in 1993 during a talk at the prison in Pennsylvania where he was serving a sentence for first-degree homicide. As a Soros Justice Media Fellow, she spent 2019 documenting the human repercussions of changing legal policies along the U.S.-Mexico border. Fantasy Premier League FPL set-pieces: Free-kicks add to David Luiz appeal. Luis Suave Gonzalez - Mural Arts Philadelphia In embarrassing fashion, all the Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices went along. Learn how your comment data is processed. And then I started believing that maybe there's a possibility because I started seeing different cases happening across the United States dealing with juveniles. And I told him, When I get out, lmma get my GED. Then I got out of the hole [and] I took my GED. So like, wouldnt it have been easier if the system allowed colleges to flourish in all their prisons? Suave on Apple Podcasts Subscribe Today, We've got nowhere else to go Concord family homeless once again after temporary apartment stay, Unpredictability and economic viability are stressors to farmer mental health, For Alex Ray, altruisim is a common theme, Calle Walton to be grand marshal of Future in Sights fundraising walk, We've got nowhere else to go Concord family homeless once again after temporary apartment stay, Concord Monitor Recent Obituaries: All of Concord Monitor's Recent Obituaries, Theres a new restaurant coming to Concord, with a familiar name and location, Avian flu is here and is a danger to cats and dogs as well as poultry. I'm not perfect. GONZALEZ: What I do believe is that Maria is a journalist that wasn't trying to sensationalize my story, and she was telling it in an educational way where we could get people to understand that prison is not the rite of passage. That means I cant go to the hole because if I go to the hole, Im gonna lose my slot in the program. Friends and family of Liz Lesher What gave you the motivation even to keep breathing, bro? Journalist Maria Hinojosa talks "Suave" podcast - WDET You had gone to prison when you were a teenager. Gonzalez said. I went to college really like 25 years ago. He is the cohost of both the, Support the work of PVS by sponsoring this event! You can do that on your own. And he finds that there are still a few things he needs to do, so he asks Maria to join him. You got to know how to read and write. Luis Suave Gonzalez (@suave_gonzalez) - Instagram 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalists for audio included NPR and NBC News. Suave also reckons with complicated emotions, wavering between the unparalleled joy of his upcoming release and the guilt of leaving behind the men hes considered his brothers for nearly three decades. What starts as a brief conversation leads to decades of communication between the two, walking the boundary between a journalist-source relationship and true friendship. Yeah, definitely, definitely, definitely. Your email address will not be published. And even though I've been home three years, I'm still lost, you know, because this world moved fast. A Philadelphia judge sentenced him to life without parole for a crime he committed when he was 17 years old. His paintings are also on display at the Morton Contemporary Gallery. I think thats the reason we won., This is a remarkable achievement. I think that that makes us better journalists. He has also been an activist against mass incarceration. Support for this podcast provided by the Art for Justice Fund, a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and The Heising-Simons Foundation: Unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and possibilities.
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