The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. On average, the U.S. sends people to prison more often, and for longer periods of time, than any other developed country.
On this episode, we hear the story of Sean Marshall, a Coloradan who was sentenced in 2008 to 45 years in prison, for committing a series of armed robberies with a BB gun.
Sean shares his journey from hopelessness to redemption. He talks about how he found hope through art, how he was able to provide inspiration and hope to others in similar situations as his, and finally how he attained clemency. In 2022, Sean was able to re-enter society and rejoin his family.
You can learn more about Sean and his story on his website: https://emarshallsmith.wixsite.com/iamsean
Sean has published two books, which he talks about in this episode. They are tellings of his life and journey through the criminal legal system: https://emarshallsmith.wixsite.com/iamsean/publications
Sean’s artistic work can be found on his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/artistseanjmarshall/
Finally, in this episode we also hear from Kristen Nelson, who helped Sean build his case for clemency. Kristen is a criminal defense attorney, and executive director of the Spero Justice Center, an organization fighting to bring hope to people who are incarcerated in Colorado. You can learn more about the Spero Justice Center on their website: https://www.sperojustice.org