Behind the Walls

Latest Episodes:

Two days till execution: Death row interview with Larry Swearingen Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

Larry Ray Swearingen, a Texas death row prisoner, is scheduled for execution on Aug. 21, 2019. It's the sixth time the state has tried to put him to death in the two decades since he was convicted of killing Melissa Trotter. So far, he's always managed to eke out a last-minute stay. Reporter Keri Blakinger visited him for an interview about what that feels like, and why he's there in the first place.

A 'sinking submarine': Two reporters take a deep dive into jail medical care Jul 24, 2019

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Co-host Keri Blakinger chats with CNN reporters Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken, who just finished investigating the troubled track record of a massive, privatized jail healthcare provider that's been sued for more than 70 inmate deaths.

Bill Savoie's Second Chance Story Jul 19, 2019

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Bill Savoie joins Keri Blakinger to talk about his life before he started practicing law. Once upon a time, the now-respected parole attorney did prison time - and on this episode of Behind the Walls, he talks for the first time about the journey from felon to lawyer.

Episode 10: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way From the Strip Club: A Texas Lege Wrap-up Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

With the Texas legislative session in the rearview mirror, Behind the Walls cohosts Keri Blakinger and Lance Lowry sat down with Dallas Morning News reporter Lauren McGaughy to talk through the criminal justice wins and (mostly) losses this year. Some big bills - including those about prison A/C, decriminalizing pot, and closing kid prisons - failed to gain traction, and left advocates disappointed. But lawmakers finally killed the hated driver responsibility surcharge and legalized kitty key chains.

Episode 9: Blood, buckshot and gunpowder: A year later, a school police officer remembers Santa Fe May 18, 2019

Show notes

One year after ten people - students and teachers - died in the Santa Fe school shooting, campus police officer John Barnes sat down with Keri Blakinger and fellow reporter St. John Barned-Smith to remember the deadly day, and how he survived.

Episode 8: From Love Triangles to Secret Emails: A Courts Reporter Remembers May 10, 2019

Show notes

After long-time Houston Chronicle courts reporter left the paper last month, he came back to sit down and look back on the highlights from 13 years covering the CJC - including the time he unearthed the emails that forced a DA to resign, and the time he covered a crazy love triangle case. To talk through it all we're joined by Houston attorney Patrick McCann.

Episode 7: Teeth, slavery and the case for independent oversight Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of Behind the Walls, cohosts Keri Blakinger and Lance Lowry sat down with Rep. Jarvis Johnson to talk about a bill that would create independent oversight of the troubled Texas prison system. The proposal comes on the heels of a number of officer indictments and firings, a drawn-out lawsuit over prison air conditioning and revelations about the system's longstanding refusal to give dentures to toothless inmates.

Episode 6: Dope, lies and no videotape Apr 10, 2019

Show notes

Attorney Mike Doyle represents the family of one of the two people killed in the botched Harding Street drug raid. Here, he talks with Keri Blakinger and her long-time frenemy and fellow reporter St. John Barned-Smith about the failed bust. Doyle tackles a few of the unanswered questions: Were they actually drug dealers? What haven't the police revealed yet? And who made that original 911 call that started the whole investigation? Co-host Lance Lowry is out this episode.

Episode 5: Ashes, reform schools, and the worst Disney Channel movies ever Mar 29, 2019

Show notes

As a prison reporter, I get some weird things in the mail: dead cockroaches, paint samples, black mold. But this month I got something a lot darker — ashes. Of an inmate I liked. It left me with a lot of questions. Also in this episode: an interview with Philly reporter Lisa Gartner, who just did a deep dive into a problematic reform school. Juvenile Judge Mike Schneider joins us for the conversation.

Episode 4: Eleven years, 280 executions, one book Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

In the more than a decade she spent working for the Texas prison system, former spokeswoman Michelle Lyons watched more than 200 men and women put to death in Huntsville. She left the department a few years ago in a swirl of controversy, but last month she sat down with Keri and cohost Lance to revisit some of the darkest parts of her 11 years on the job.

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