What Is Life‪?‬ Joshua Vaughn

In this episode you'll hear from Robert Pezzeca, a man who has spent more than 20 years in prison after being sentenced to life without parole for murder.
Listen as he talks about dealing with the childhood traumas that put him on a path to prison.
This is the final episode of the first season of What Is Life? 
Thank you for everyone who has listened so far. We'll back in a few months with a second season featuring even more stories from people sentenced to die behind bars.

In this episode of What Is Life? hear from Sarita, one of a growing number of women serving life without that possibility of parole across the nation.
Listen as Sarita discusses her journey to redemption, overcoming the traumas of her childhood and dealing with racism in prison after the murder of George Floyd.
This podcast is sponsored by FAMM, a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating criminal justice issues all across the country.
No End In Sight report by the Sentencing Project: https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/No-End-in-Sight-Americas-Enduring-Reliance-on-Life-Imprisonment.pdf

In this episode of What Is Life? you will hear from John Brookins, a man who has spent 30 years in prison for a crime he has always stated he did not commit.
Listen to John as he reads his open letter to his wife, Karen, who he married while serving life without the possibility of parole.
This podcast is sponsored by FAMM, a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating criminal justice issues all across the country.

In this episode of What Is Life? you'll hear from Matthew Garcia, a man convicted of felony murder in the 1990's for his role in a robbery that resulted in a retired Philadelphia police officer being killed.
Matthew did not directly kill the retired officer and has said he actually fled the scene before the killing occurred, but because of the felony murder doctrine, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Matthew had turned 18 only a month before the robbery and killing, meaning he is ineligible for resentencing under the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Miller and Montgomery, which deemed mandatory life sentences for children to be unconstitutional. 
One of Matthew's co-defendants, who is two months younger him, has since been resentenced and released because of the decisions.
PLSE report on race and age and felony murder in Pennsylvania: https://www.plsephilly.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PLSE_SecondDegreeMurder_and_Race_Apr2021.pdf

In this episode of What Is Life? you'll hear from Charmaine Pfender, a woman who has been incarcerated for nearly 40 years for killing a man she said was trying to assault her.
Listen as Charmaine discusses her path to redemption and the need for second chances for people sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
This podcast is sponsored by FAMM, a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating criminal justice issues all across the country.

In this episode of What Is Life? you'll hear from Terrell Carter, a father and grandfather, as he describes the scene inside the courtroom when he was sentenced to life without parole roughly 30 years ago and his path to healing through writing.
Terrell's books can be found at:
Incarceration of Tears - https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ATerrel+Carter&s=relevancerank&text=Terrel+Carter&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1
Guilty Reflections - https://www.amazon.com/Guilty-Reflections-One-Boy-Man/dp/0977422623/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1618968524&refinements=p_27%3ATerrel+Carter&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Terrel+Carter
Guilty Reflections II - https://www.amazon.com/Guilty-Reflections-II-Carter-Paperback/dp/B010ZD01QY/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&qid=1619101619&refinements=p_27%3ATerrel+Carter&s=books&sr=1-4&text=Terrel+Carter
This podcast is sponsored by FAMM, a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating criminal justice issues all across the country.