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Inmate Interviews Episodes

Sept. 16, 2024

Does Your Inmate Pen Pal Manipulate You?

Is your prison pen pal genuine, or could he or she be manipulating you for money and commissary? This week, we're joined by Chris from Colorado. Now retired, Chris worked inside of a correctional facility for over 17 years and has some stories to share. You may or may not agree with his opinions about inmates (or offenders as he calls them) but his cautionary tale may prove beneficial to some. Later in the show, we chat with two inmates (and members of PenPals.Buzz). Get to know Terry Spencer from Umatilla, Oregon, and Kristopher Douglas from Tucson, Arizona. Learn more about them at https://penpals.buzz
Sept. 9, 2024

Daniel Dean Morris: Incarcerated Author and Father

Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, you'll see and hear people asserting that all inmates are scum, that inmates deserve to rot and die in prison. Big Steve disagrees, reasoning that with 2.3 million incarcerated men and women in America, it's impossible to put them all into a tiny little box labeled "SCUM". While some inmates (like the ones depicted in movies) have committed heinous crimes and may be where they need to be, our mission is to share with the world some more uplifting stories of prison inmates. Redemption is possible. Thousands, just like our guest on this week's episode, have worked tirelessly to change their lives for the better. When we interview Daniel Morris, you won't hear Hannibal Lecter. You won't hear Charles Manson. You'll hear a human being who admits he made some terrible choices in life, but who has worked unbelievably hard to improve himself both mentally and physically. You'll meet a guy who loves the stock market, loves octopuses, loves his daughter, …
Sept. 2, 2024

Wrongful Convictions: Like Father, Like Son?

Clifford Williams Jr. and his nephew, Nathan Myers, were released from prison in 2019 after 43 years of being wrongfully convicted of murder. Already suffering from early onset dementia, Williams wasn't really able to celebrate his release, nor to enjoy his freedom before his death earlier this year. He was given close to 2 million dollars, but no amount of money could possibly be worth time spent on death row, and an entire lifetime in prison. Now, 48 years after Williams' wrongful conviction in 1976, his son, Clifford Walker, is reliving in his father's footsteps. Walker is more than halfway through a 35-year sentence for murder, a crime he contends he didn't commit. We've reviewed the evidence, and we believe he's telling the truth. Cliff Walker was attempting to buy some marijuana in a parking lot. He was unarmed and got into a car to finalize the deal. But the two men in the car had other plans. They noticed his big wad of cash and attempted to rob him. As he wrestled the gun awa…
Aug. 27, 2024

One Ounce of Pot, 16 Years in Prison: The Harrowing Real-Life Story of Trent Bouhdida

Over the course of three months in 2015, PenPals.Buzz member Trent Bouhdida sold undercover officer Ronald Elcock (call me Kev) a total of one ounce of marijuana. Eight months later, he was arrested by two U.S. Marshalls, while attempting to drive his wife (who had recently given birth) to a job interview. He never made it to the job interview, but he did make it to the county jail. And after two mistrials, and a relentless prosecution, Arizona prosecutors finally found a jury who would convict him. Bouhdida received over 16 years in state prison for selling what is, in most states, completely legal. Why would Arizona undercover officers devote months of time to bust a law-abiding 21-year-old father who had a 3-month-old son and was working full time in customer service? Why not go after people committing real crimes? And how is it possible that any judge in any court in any state in America could ever sentence someone to 16 years for selling an ounce of weed, and be able to sleep wel…