From Words to Weapons Episode 3 focuses on Chester Hollman III, who spent nearly three decades in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, and the broader political fight over state-administered compensation for people who’ve been wrongfully convicted. A few years ago, Chester was the subject of a Netflix documentary; this episode picks up where that story left off. We talk with Chester about how he’s managing his mental health after being exonerated and now helping others rebuild their lives after prison. Through Chester’s post-incarceration story, we also unpack efforts and obstacles to support exonerees legislatively (fruitless thus far in Pennsylvania, among just a dozen states without wrongful conviction compensation laws) and politically (the Pa. GOP’s quest to oust Philly’s progressive district attorney was peaking while Chester was engaging with us for this podcast).
Links of interest:
Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States
Pennsylvania State House Bill 1470
Exonerated Justice ordinance and resolution before Philadelphia City Council
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner impeachment:
• Commonwealth Court
• State Supreme Court
The Prosecution: Wrong Place, Wrong Time (Netflix’s The Innocence Files, ep. 7)
