After spending 38 years in the Alabama prison system, one of the most violent and crowded in the nation, Larry Jordan feels lucky to live long enough to regain his freedom.
The decorated Vietnam War veteran had survived prostate cancer and hepatitis C behind bars when a judge granted him early release late last year.
“I never gave up hope,” says Jordan, 74, who lives in Alabama. “I know a lot of people in prison who did.”
At least 6,182 people died in state and federal prisons in 2020, a 46% jump from the previous year, according to data recently released by researchers from the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project.
Continue reading “When a prison sentence becomes a death sentence”