They Got Life in Prison at 17. Now They’re Helping Others Avoid That Fate.

“I’m Not Really Free”: Pulitzer Winners “Suave” & Maria Hinojosa Examine Life After Prison in Season 2

As the Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast Suave returns for its second season, we speak with journalist Maria Hinojosa and David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez, the subject of the series. Gonzalez was sentenced to life in prison at age 17, but got an unexpected second chance when he was paroled in 2017 following a Supreme Court ruling that found sentences like his unconstitutional. The first season of the podcast followed Gonzalez’s case, his decadeslong frie

They Got Life in Prison at 17. Now They’re Helping Others Avoid That Fate.

As a teenager, John Pace dreamed of playing football or becoming a police officer. But growing up in Philadelphia, he found himself drawn to older people in the neighborhood — especially those with negative habits who always seemed to have the freshest clothes and the most respect. In 1985, Pace learned exactly how some of them earned their reputations. A lifestyle built on crime ultimately led him to a sentence of life in prison. At 17, he was …