PMJA Award - Audacious: A first-time offender’s prison story

Audacious with Chion Wolf
Episode: Nothing goes as planned: A first-time offender’s prison story from arrest to release
Original Airdate: January 24, 2025
Category: Interview Program

“Audacious with Chion Wolf” is a weekly program on Connecticut Public Radio dedicated to conversations with people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood. We are submitting for your consideration an episode that aired on January 25, 2025: “Nothing goes as planned: A first-time offender’s prison story from arrest to release.” The episode follows Mike West before incarceration, during his sentence, and six months after release.

What began as a Reddit post from a first-time, non-violent offender asking what to expect in prison became a portrait recorded over nearly two years. Mike West’s lived experience, including the often-overlooked phase of reentry, is at the center of this episode. We grounded the story in verified reporting, worked with the Connecticut Department of Correction for in-prison access, and collaborated with our investigative editor to ensure accuracy and context. The result is an intimate, long-term interview that sheds light on incarceration and how it shapes identity, relationships, and life beyond prison.

Jessica Severin de Martinez, Meg Fitzgerald, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Meg Dalton contributed to this show. Special thanks to Jim Haddadin of CT Public's Accountability Project, and Andrius Banevicius, the Public Information Officer at the CT State Department of Correction.