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Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison

Create. Genius. Media and Temple University 8 episodes Latest Jun 2, 2026

This podcast investigates the crisis of aging women lifers at SCI Muncy prison in Pennsylvania. It explores how mass incarceration policies from the 1980s and 1990s have led to a growing population of elderly female inmates. The series highlights the lack of adequate healthcare and facilities for seniors in prison, resulting in a public health emergency. Produced by Create. Genius. Media and Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting.

Episodes

The History of America's Incarceration of Women Jun 9, 2026 1:03:53 The United States penitentiary system was born in Philadelphia at Eastern State Penitentiary in 1829 and has since grown to become the largest in the world. More than 900 women were incarcerated at Eastern State over a nearly 100-year period. A panel of prison experts and advocates gathered at the penitentiary, which closed in 1970 and later reopened as a historic site, on May 20, 2026 to discuss

Women Impacted Jun 2, 2026 1:08:19 What does it look like to be a woman navigating living behind bars? And what happens when those women rejoin society on the outside? The “Dying On The Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison” team convened a panel to discuss the intersection of incarceration, aging, and health with women directly impacted by the justice system at Temple University’s Randall Theater in Philadelphia on May 13, 2026. Th

Launch Event at WHYY May 26, 2026 55:02 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in March that mandatory life without parole sentences for second degree murder are unconstitutional. The decision not only impacts those with future sentences but the more than one thousand people serving life sentences for second degree murder across Pennsylvania, many of whom have already spent decades behind bars. The “Dying On The Inside: Women Lifers at Mu

Hope May 19, 2026 27:22 Maria Rodriguez has spent close to 50 years at State Correctional Institution Muncy after being convicted of second-degree murder. Living in the prison’s infirmary, her body is breaking down with a host of ailments, including diabetes, arthritis and a broken back. Cases like Rodriguez’s are leading some officials to rethink how the criminal justice system handles aging prisoners.The Pennsylvania S

Freedom May 12, 2026 27:26 For women lifers in Pennsylvania, it is nearly impossible to get out of prison. The process of having their sentence commuted is long, political and requires unanimous approval by the Board of Pardons. Only 17 women serving life in Pennsylvania had been granted commutation in the last half-century. Naomi Blount-Wilson, a former lifer at State Correctional Institution Muncy, had her sentence commut

Submerged May 5, 2026 26:11 Sheena King, 52, was terrified of dying alone and afraid inside the prison infirmary at State Correctional Muncy. She became a prison hospice volunteer, comforting and helping women in their final stage of life, in hope the same would eventually be done for her. During her 33 years at Muncy, Sheena has dedicated her life to being the support she wishes she’d had before she committed murder at 18 y

Prison Can Break A Body Down Apr 28, 2026 26:49 Cherri Gregg talks to lifers at State Correctional Institution Muncy about the challenges of staying healthy in prison. People like Terri Harper, who has served 35 years, feel like their concerns aren’t taken seriously by the medical system. Terri has had seven surgeries in the last 15 years and has had to wait for long stretches to get the care she’s needed. Nutrition is also a challenge in

Lock Them Up For Life Apr 21, 2026 25:54 Cherri Gregg and the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting visit State Correctional Institution Muncy, Pennsylvania’s largest women’s prison and home to roughly 150 lifers. As they tour the prison, they witness the challenges of aging while incarcerated. We meet Sylvia Boykin, 68, who has been at SCI Muncy for 33 years. Her body is ravaged by multiple serious illnesses. Advocates call her

Introducing Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison Mar 7, 2026 2:17 In State Correctional Institution Muncy in Pennsylvania, roughly 150 women lifers — many of them incarcerated during the height of mass incarceration in the 1980s and 1990s — are now aging behind bars. Nationally, the average age of incarcerated women has risen to 41 and visits to the infirmary have skyrocketed in the past five years, increasing 573%. Chronic illnesses such as diabetes,

Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison

Episodes

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