He Designed a Garden at UC Santa Cruz from Death Row. Now Students Want Him Free

In California, the death penalty is in limbo. On the one hand, the state hasn’t executed anyone since 2006. On the other, the death penalty in still legal. In practice, this means that hundreds of incarcerated people have been languishing on death for row years, even decades.

Timothy James Young, who’s on death row at San Quentin State Prison, believes he was wrongfully convicted of murder and still hopes that someday he will be freed. And he has reason to hope: over the last few years, a garden project with UC Santa Cruz has snowballed into a full-blown campaign by students and faculty to exonerate him.

Guest: Chloe Veltman, KQED arts and culture reporter

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

Links:

• California Will Close Death Row at San Quentin. The Next Steps Are More Complicated
• How a Garden at UC Santa Cruz Led to an Exoneration Campaign for a Man on Death Row
• 'I Am More: The Story of Tim Young'

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