logo
episode-header-image
May 2020
33m 10s

Cradle to Prison

iHeartPodcasts
About this episode

Though only 6.5 percent of Californians are black, African Americans make up 29 percent of the prison population and 36 percent of those condemned to death. Jarvis was born into poverty and abuse so extreme, he shot past the “cradle to prison pipeline,” straight to the “cradle to death row pipeline.” Enlil McRae, from the Truthworker Theatre Company, reads passages from Jarvis’s memoir, “That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row,” You will learn about Jarvis’s formative years, his struggles to survive and the foster parents who imprinted on him the meaning of love.


Meet David Sheff, author of a new biography on Jarvis, “The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place.” David has spent the last several years visiting with Jarvis, and has amassed hundreds of hours of interviews with him, and those people who had the greatest impact on Jarvis’s life. David is also the author of the memoir, “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction.”


Theme song SENTENCED, is complements of the band Stick Figure, from their album “Set In Stone.”


Have a question for Jarvis that you’d like to hear him answer on the podcast, please leave a message on our hotline: 201-903-3575 or, AskJarvisMasters@Gmail.com

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
May 2020
Righteous Anger
The juvenile justice system taught Jarvis how to fight, and while still a boy, defined for him what it meant to be a man, fierce, angry and proud. There were times when he tried to rise above and escape the cradle to prison pipeline, but the gravitational pull was too strong to r ... Show More
23m 33s
Jun 2020
Bonus Episode - #PodcastBlackOut ~ On the loss of George Floyd
To share in the sorrow, and join in solidarity with the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Brianna Taylor, and so many more families of color who have lost loved ones for absolutely no reason; to show respect to the hundreds of thousands of courageous individuals across the ... Show More
23m 57s
Jun 2020
The Death Penalty, an Insider’s POV
For obvious reasons, Jarvis has a very personal take on the morality and ethics of capital punishment. Having been an inmate at San Quentin for 40 years, he has personally known men who have been executed. He has counseled fellow inmates who suffer from great depression, as they ... Show More
32m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2023
How to save a murderer
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
26m 6s
Oct 2024
Capital Punishment
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
1h 16m
May 2023
The Bathhouse Murder Pt. 2
Joe West does everything to make sure childhood friend Oscar Lee Morris spends the rest of his life behind bars - or better yet - on Death Row. West decides to give police evidence that implicates Morris in a murder which took place at a Long Beach bathhouse back in 1978. His exp ... Show More
41m 49s
Sep 2022
Mix Matched
A Texas ex-con resolves to live a clean life after his release from prison. When he’s later arrested and convicted for a bloody murder, he insists he’s innocent. From behind bars, he’s determined to use forensic science to prove his case.To learn more about how HLN protects liste ... Show More
25m 48s
May 2021
Justice for Joyce Yost | Talking Cold | Discussion of Episode 9
When a criminal defendant gets the death penalty it can feel like a life sentence to the families of the victims. Amy and Sheryl speak with Matt Hunsaker, whose mother, Maurine Hunsaker, was murdered when he was 10 years old in 1986. The ladies also speak with former capital case ... Show More
52m 53s