You had gone to prison when you were a teenager. Send flowers, find service dates or offer condolences for the lives we have lost in new jersey. David Luis 'Sauve' Gonzalez of "Suave" from Futuro Studios and PRX. He also co-hosts Death by Incarceration, which will be featuring episodes this fall focused on the various ways people in prison get an education. You have to say, you know what, I got nothing to lose and everything to gain. A Philadelphia judge sentenced him to life without parole for a crime he committed when he was 17 years old. Suave was also a talented artist. 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. Copyright 2021 NPR. And for me, one of the messages for my fellow journalists is, always stay in touch with your sources 'cause you never know. All contents Tim Pilleri . And I told him, When I get out, lmma get my GED. Then I got out of the hole [and] I took my GED. Thomas, who was sentenced to 55-years-to-life in California, is the inside host of the Pulitzer-nominated podcast Ear Hustle. Julieta Martinelli is an award-winning investigative reporter and currently a producer at Latino USA. In this episode, we follow Suave in his first year of freedom as he experiences countless firsts: leaving the halfway house for his first solo apartment, adopting a pet, finding a job and the start of a promising relationship with someone from his past. She is the author of two books and has won dozens of awards, including four Emmys, the John Chancellor Award, the Studs Terkel Community Media Award, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club, and the Ruben Salazar Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAHJ. Suave returns with Maria to the corner of 8th and Somerset in the Badlandsthe place where his victims young life ended and the place that changed the course of Suaves life. A new podcast about the system that sentences juveniles to life in prison, a story of incarceration, redemption, and the unusual relationship between a journalist and a source. Look. co-sponsor and demonstrate your commitment to supporting people incarcerated in federal prisons far away from friends and family. Gonzalez, though not visited by PVS, speaks powerfully about the importance of human connections during his time inside. That is until a Supreme Court ruling changes everythingand Suave suddenly gets a second chance to fight for his freedom. 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. The crime was a robbery-turned-shooting that resulted in the 1986 death of 13-year-old Danny Martinez in Philadelphia. And then this lady come out of nowhere and just tell me, you could be the voice for the voiceless. Maria Hinojosa meets David Luis Suave Gonzalez in 1993. Or do I want this jailhouse shit? I decided I dont get nothing from stabbing people up. 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. Education was just another tool to fight the system. Thats how you get the street credibility. Graterford Prison, where Suave was incarcerated, on July 20, 2001. A conversation with Maria Hinojosa and David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez exploring the Pulitzer-Prize-winning podcast 'Suave.'Maria Hinojosa spent nearly 20 years . Former juvenile lifer offers hope for others now incarcerated - WHYY 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. Special Events - Suave | prisonervisitation Maria worries about the lasting effects of lifetime parole on Suave and comforts him through some tough disappointments. 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. A Philadelphia judge sentenced him to life without parole for a crime he committed when he was 17 years old. So I started visualizing and putting myself in places that Id never been before. A Philadelphia judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. That means I cant go to the hole because if I go to the hole, Im gonna lose my slot in the program. And Suave, you've been talking to Maria for so many years. Northern California Public Media (SM) reserves all rights to content on this site. And on the day of Suaves release, Maria travels to Pennsylvania to bring him home. There he earned a bachelors in education and marketing. The Jones decision is an undeniably major setback in the movement to end juvenile life without parole. You know, it was scary because even though I went to college, I got my degrees, I educated myself, transformed myself, I never thought about living as a free man, as an adult. For more about Suave, listen to Life Sentence from Latino USA: Featured image:Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images, I hope my brother Luis suave Gonzalez gets out soon, Damn straight I havent see David in years, Yeah free david he need to get out already sooo happy for him, I heard the 104.5 morning show with Suave and I was so impressed! I mean, it was, like, the farthest thing from my mind. 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. The story follows David Luis Suave Gonzalez from boy to man, exploring incarceration, redemption, and the often unusual relationship between a journalist and a source. And then the Supreme Court says HINOJOSA: It's going to happen. Suave on Apple Podcasts Weve been through this journey. CHANG: I want to bounce what you just said off of Suave. If you wait for the DOC to give you permission to do it, its never gonna get done. Accuracy and availability may vary. The only way youre going to fight the system is if you know how to write the grievance, if you know how to file them pro se lawsuits. Learn how your comment data is processed. Journalist Maria Hinojosa met David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez in 1993 while speaking at the Graterford State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania. And thats the life hes leading, in and out of solitary confinement, when he meets Maria Hinojosa in 1993. I'm like a baby learning how to be a decent human being. Journalist Maria Hinojosa talks "Suave" podcast - WDET He would spend the rest of his life . You can avoid it by skipping between minute 4:45-6:45. Prior winners in The Pulitzer Prizes have included This American Life as well as a jointly-produced podcast from NPR, KCUR, and WABE. And I was like, wow, somebody really cared because in street term, a source is a snitch. Open Campus national reporter Charlotte West contributed to this story. I'm not perfect. But it was new to me because when I went in, I had a complete family. Because I was illiterate, I really didn't understand the process. She was an NPR Next Generation Radio fellow and 2019 Ford Foundation 50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism fellow. I was fascinated with prison flicks. We had a secret, unspoken bond. Fifteen seconds. CHANG: It is fascinating to listen to both of you describe all the complex layers that come into a relationship between journalist and source. The crime was a robbery-turned-shooting that resulted in the 1986 death of 13-year-old Danny Martinez in Philadelphia. And I want to talk to Maria about that because, Maria, you essentially become a character in this podcast, which is a choice - right? On Monday, Hinojosa and her team of producers and editors at Futuro Media won the Pulitzer Prize in audio recording for a seven-part podcast series called "Suave." The show is about a man. But in journalism, a source is somebody that could report what - the injustices taking place behind these prison walls that society don't know about. David Luiz: Brazilian defender reveals surprise new look aged 35 Suave tells the story of what happens when your whole world is a prison cell, and you suddenly get a second chance at life. After a decade reporting on music for various outlets, he served as Senior Editor on the public radio program Latino USA. 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?. The two would later work together to document his time in prison and subsequent release, in 2017 after a Supreme Court decision that ruled automatic life sentences without parole for juveniles as unconstitutional, in an eponymous podcast, Suave, which won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize.