California Governor Pardons Former Prisoner Podcaster of “Ear Hustle”
One of 17 pardons granted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on November 27, 2024, went to former San Quentin prisoner Earlonne Woods, 53, a host of the popular Ear Hustle podcast that he helped start from his cell in 2017.
Woods was 17 in 1989 when he was sentenced to prison for kidnapping and robbing a Los Angeles drug dealer. After release, he was re-arrested at age 25 for attempted robbery with a firearm; with his two earlier convictions, that “third strike” earned him a sentence of 31 years to life.
Back in prison, Woods finished his GED and successfully applied to a film school for prisoners at San Quentin in 2011. There he met volunteer teacher Nigel Poor, who in 2016 helped Woods and fellow prisoner Antwan Williams beat out 1,536 other contestants from the U.S. and 52 other countries, vying to produce the prison’s first podcast for Radiotopia.
The following year Ear Hustle debuted. The show quickly lived up to its name—a slang term for “eavesdropping”—racking up some 80 million downloads. Poor, Woods and his co-host, prisoner Rahsaan “New York” Thomas, were also finalists for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting and won a 2021 Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcast and digital journalism.
In November 2018, Woods’ sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Jerry Brown (D), and he was released from San Quentin. He continues to work on the show from outside the prison, which is still recorded there.
Newsom announced Woods’ pardon in May 2024, citing “the work he has done to transform himself.” But due to Woods’ multiple felony convictions, he had to await signoff from the state Supreme Court before receiving the “full and unconditional” pardon.
Source: Politico
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