The Old Head - Ep. 3

Summary

Summary of "Suave" Podcast – Season 2, Episode 3: "The Old Head"

Introduction

In the third episode of the second season of the Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast "Suave", titled "The Old Head", host Maria Hinojosa delves deeper into the life of Luis "Suave" Gonzalez, a former juvenile lifer who has spent over three decades incarcerated. This episode captures the pivotal moments leading up to Suave's release, his emotional and psychological preparations for reentry into society, and the profound bonds he formed during his time in prison.

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Preparing for Release

As Suave approaches his release date, he grapples with the reality of leaving prison—a place that has been his home for most of his adult life. The transition is not just physical but also deeply emotional, as Suave reflects on the relationships and sense of belonging he developed behind bars.

Suave Gonzalez [05:06]:
"When you grow up in prison, like most of us have done, you have guys that have stepped in to become father figures and brothers. It's like breaking away from your family."

Despite being labeled a "short timer" in the transitional housing unit, Suave expresses unwavering loyalty to his fellow inmates, viewing them as his true family.

Suave Gonzalez [04:11]:
"You know, it's strange because now you got guys calling you short timer... I'm like, man, no, I'm not, man. This has been my home for my adult life. I got my people, man. I can't forget y'all guys."

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Transitioning to Freedom

Suave's move to a transitional housing unit marks the beginning of his journey back into the outside world. This unit, though still on prison grounds, offers a glimpse of normalcy with amenities unfamiliar to him, such as private showers and access to a farm where inmates can work.

Suave Gonzalez [10:37]:
"Anytime you want."

These small freedoms contrast sharply with the rigid structure of his prison life, symbolizing both hope and the daunting challenges ahead.

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Emotional Reflections and Fears

As the release date looms closer, Suave shares his apprehensions about reentering society. He contemplates the nuances of everyday interactions—simple acts like greeting someone or using utensils—and worries about being perceived as out of touch or "crazy."

Suave Gonzalez [16:10]:
"I might not even think about it. Going to shower in the street with my clothes on. People probably be like, yo, this dude is crazy."

Maria Hinojosa reflects on her role, acknowledging the blurred lines between professional storytelling and personal investment.

Maria Hinojosa [21:18]:
"The story was not, in my view, what had happened in the past. The story for me was what was going to happen in the future."

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The Day of Release

November 20, 2017, marks a monumental day as Suave is finally released. The episode poignantly captures his departure from Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution, Greaterford, highlighting the emotions of Suave, his family, friends, and the team supporting him.

In a heartfelt moment, Suave reads his bucket list, a compilation of goals he set before his incarceration—a testament to his desire for personal growth and restitution.

Suave Gonzalez [28:37]:
"Even though I've been sentenced to die in prison by death by incarceration, I'm writing this wish list because if I ever get the chance to go home, I would love to do certain things to repair some of the wrong I've done."

This revelation underscores Suave's commitment to transforming his life and making amends for his past actions.

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Final Moments and Reflections

The actual release unfolds with a mix of excitement and logistical hurdles. Suave's eagerness to embrace freedom is palpable, yet moments of procedural setbacks, like returning his prison uniform, remind listeners of the lingering constraints of his past life.

Maria Hinojosa [25:24]:
"So he opens up this big bag... and he rushes into the bathroom to change."

As Suave steps out into the world, the collective emotions of the supporting cast—Maria, Maggie, and his loved ones—highlight the gravity and significance of his liberation.

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Conclusion

"The Old Head" offers a profound exploration of the complexities surrounding the release of a life-long inmate. Through intimate conversations, emotional revelations, and Suave's introspective moments, the episode paints a vivid picture of the challenges and hopes that accompany the quest for redemption and reintegration. Maria Hinojosa's empathetic storytelling not only chronicles Suave's journey but also invites listeners to contemplate the broader implications of incarceration and the pursuit of a second chance.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Suave Gonzalez [05:06]:
  "When you grow up in prison... it's like breaking away from your family."

• Suave Gonzalez [16:10]:
  "I might not even think about it. Going to shower in the street with my clothes on. People probably be like, yo, this dude is crazy."

• Suave Gonzalez [28:37]:
  "Even though I've been sentenced to die in prison by death by incarceration, I'm writing this wish list because if I ever get the chance to go home, I would love to do certain things to repair some of the wrong I've done."

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the emotional depth and transformative journey of "Suave" in "The Old Head", offering readers a window into the intricate process of reclaiming one's life after decades of incarceration.

Transcript

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Futuro.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by the Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities. To help connect us all [e-mail] When I founded Futuro, I imagined a home for journalism with radical transparency. I wanted a newsroom where I wasn't the only Latina behind the mic. Now Futuro is becoming a home for more voices than ever. Help grow this future by joining our new membership program. You'll get exclusive interviews, whole season binges behind the scenes chisme shape the future of storytelling. Join Futuro Visit our website futuromediagroup.org joinplus ET not EVA yes.

[Maggie Freeling]

Suave is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

So here I am going to court for the first time in 30 something years. Then I got into a van.

[Maggie Freeling]

Well, so tell me about that. The sheriff opens the window for you and you smell the air. And what did you smell?

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I mean the air smelled different. Everything. It was smelling like horseshit. Bird shit, hamburgers, all the McDonald's. To be able to smell some bird shit and some. And some cow shit and some. I mean although it was a foul order. It was like everything smell like roses. Oh Jesus. This is what the. Can I curse? This is what the fuck the world smell like. To be able to smell what the world smell like other than prison. The prison smell like mold. Like old basement, wet basement mold, I always say. That's why I don't like Doritos. On a good day it smell like dried Doritos. Like that old. Take your shoes off and you like cheesy. Like cheesy. It's on a good day. On a bad day, it smell like death. But after a while, that smell become normal.

[Maggie Freeling]

From Futuro Studios and prx, this is Suave, a podcast about juveniles sentenced to die in prison, told through one man's journey. I'm Maggie Freeling. David Luis Suave Gonzalez was sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole for a crime committed when he was 17 years old. He was found guilty of first degree homicide. This is his story of incarceration, redemption, and an unusual relationship between a journalist and a man convicted of murder.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

This is a call from Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution, Greaterford Suave.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Yes.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

How you feel today?

[Maria Hinojosa]

Oh, I'm sick. I actually got sick coming down to Philadelphia. So, Suave, Today is Monday, July 10th. I saw you in court on July 6th. So how are you feeling today?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Oh, man, I'm feeling. I'm feeling like a brand new person.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Yeah.

[Maggie Freeling]

After the resentencing, Suave's back in his same prison cell. He'll be here at least another few weeks until he moves to new housing to wait for an official release date. And although his cell is the same, everything else is different.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

You know what? It's strange because now you got guys calling you short timer. You got guys, what's up, short timer? You know, cracking joke.

[Maria Hinojosa]

What kind of jokes do they make?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

You going home? You won't forget about everybody in here. I'm like, man, no, I'm not, man. This has been my home for my adult life. I got my people, man. I can't forget y'all guys.

[Maria Hinojosa]

I don't know, Suave, if I've ever heard you call Greaterford home.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Oh, well, I never did. But the reality is this made my own for my adult life.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Just the thought that he would be having mixed emotions, right? And that he might even be feeling sad. This is one of the things that I just hadn't thought about.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

When you grow up in prison, like most of us have done, you have guys that have stepped in to become father figures and brothers. It's like breaking away from your family, and you can see the sadness in their face. You know, they got emotion and they want to hug you. You know, these are things that for 30 years, they don't want to hug you because it's not cool to do that in prison. Now they letting their guard down, and it's like, oh, man, you going home.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

We had a bond, you know, like, do or die together. And here I was breaking that bond when I was, like, the glue to that whole crew in the prison. I was they leader. You know, like, whatever. If I told them we not gonna eat, we wasn't eating. We were all lifers. It didn't matter. The age. In 2012, age mattered. Now, if I would have been a couple of months older, if I would have been 18 instead of 17, I probably would not be sitting here today. And after being in prison for all that time, I realized that there's more people that's done more work than me to work on themselves and transform themselves. They deserve the same opportunity, if not more. 90% of them are deserving. You know, people go to prison for 30, 40 years you don't stay the same. You change. Everything around you stay the same, but you change. You transform. You start seeing the world differently. And just to feel guilty because I grew up with them and we had, like, that secretly unspoken bond. We all gonna die in here. So we all gotta look out for each other in here. I felt like I'm leaving my brothers behind.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I will make it my business once I get out to at least send some of these guys up here. Christmas cards, a birthday card. You know, a lot of them don't know. They don't know I know their birthday. I got it because I looked at their IDs and write it down.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Hold on a second, swabby. Are you telling me that, like, recently. Because you know that you're going to be getting out, you're, like, studying their IDs, then going back to your cell and writing down their birthday because you want to be able to send them Christmas cards.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Yes. And birthday cards and all that. Yes, yes. Listen, when I get a birthday card from you. Oh, it's like a baby in a candy stor.

[Maggie Freeling]

A few mornings later, a guard came by with news.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I'm gonna give you the exact word. He said, you're being evicted from the jail. You no longer want the dead.

[Maggie Freeling]

So Suave's headed to transitional housing. It's still on prison grounds, but it's separate from the cell blocks he's been living in. It's a small building, low security. Suave will live here while he waits until the parole board gives him an official release date.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Were you cuffed when they walked you out of.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

No, no, no, no. They put you in the van, and when you get to the gate, the guards tell you you gotta get off the van and walk out the gate.

[Maggie Freeling]

So while the transitional housing unit is still technically on the prison property, it's beyond the actual prison walls.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

And the bar just flashed me through and I just stood there and she said, what you waiting for? I said, can I go? She said.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Can you just tell me about that first night Suave in.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Oh, man, I couldn't sleep because you know. You know what? After you've been sleeping in a cell for a long time, and then you had to sleep in the dormitory. Listen, I went to bed, got up 3:00 in the morning. I was just waiting for the guard to say lock up, but nothing. And another thing, they called you by your last name.

[Maria Hinojosa]

I don't understand. How did they call you when you were in the prison?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

They call you by your number, as always. Over here is Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Gazelle. Sometimes they call me and I'm like, yo. They call these front desk. I was like, oh, okay.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Because you're used to only being a number.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

They got microwave.

[Maria Hinojosa]

And you haven't had a microwave that you could use. I mean, the.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I prepare my. My food with hot water and the potato chip out.

[Maria Hinojosa]

So what are you gonna have?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I already got it made up. I got it made up. I got a bag of chili and some rice, and I'll put a little cheese in it with a pepper that somebody gave me, and I. Yeah, and I'mma put it in there. You can shower anytime you want.

[Maria Hinojosa]

You can shower anytime you want. That's a big deal.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Anytime you want. And guess what?

[Maria Hinojosa]

What?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

It's a one man shower.

[Maria Hinojosa]

It's a one man shower. You mean a private shower stall?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Private shower with a shower curtain.

[Maria Hinojosa]

And you haven't had that for 30 years, right?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

In 30 years.

[Maggie Freeling]

So the transitional unit also has a farm where some of the men in the unit work.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

And guess what? I've been eating corn on the cob since Friday. I take it up from the field, ball it up, put some butter on it. Oh, you know what was funny? I'm gonna tell you what was funny. They got these salt and pepper shakers, right? Sea salt, you know, I ain't seen one of them salt and pepper ever. So I'm like, how the hell you do say? He said, you want some salt? I'm like, man, that's. No. So he started laughing. He's like, no, that's. See? So he said, you gotta get used to it. You gotta crush it first. Then I was like, oh, my God. I would have been embarrassed in the rest of my life. He was like, don't worry about it. Everybody go through that to come out.

[Maria Hinojosa]

I mean, every single phone call was like this. It was. Seriously. It was like, phew. I was just beyond excited. And then he called me because he wanted to tell me that one of the guys had invited him to. To a part of the farm that he hadn't seen because he wanted Suave to maybe take on this new job.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

And then he took me to the horse barn, and he said, hey, man, that's the horse and two big black horses, like 1300 pound apiece. So I'm saying, I'm not going in there. So then I. In my mind, I'm like, I don't want this dude to think I'm a chump. So I opened the gate and went in, and the horse started following me. He said. He said, that's what they do. He said, touch the horse. I'm like, man. Then I touched the horse. I was like, wow. I didn't touch a horse. I don't ever think I touched the hood in my life. They was breaking me and that was. I never in my life. I'm 48 years old. I never gave an apple to a horse.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Yeah, I know, Swabby.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

That is amazing. Well, I don't even know if people really touch horses in the street or something. To me that's amazing. And then seeing two cats and a deer with a white tail, I was like, wow.

[Maggie Freeling]

We'll be right back.

[Maria Hinojosa]

There's a lot going on right now. Mounting economic inequality, threats to democracy, environmental disaster, the sour stench of chaos in the air. Hi, I'm Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC's on the Media. Want to understand the reasons and the meanings of the narratives that led us here and maybe how to head them off at the pass. That's on the Media's specialty. Take a listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maggie Freeling]

We're back. Suave is in transitional housing. In some ways, he's training for his re entry into the outside world. But he's still waiting for his parole hearing. The Pennsylvania parole board still has to sign off on his release. They could decide he's not ready yet or ask him to take more classes. You never really know how a parole hearing will go. But the date finally rolls around and it's more good news.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

How are you doing today, Mafia?

[Maria Hinojosa]

I'm good. I need you to speak up a little bit.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I said, how you doing today?

[Maria Hinojosa]

My tape recorder is not working, so I'm. I'm recording this off of my husband's phone.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Oh, okay. I got a date to go home. I got a date to go home, dog. November 20th.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Oh my God.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Swabby.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

November 20th. They're kicking me out.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Oh my God. Swabb.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

At 7:00 in the morning, waking me up at 6. I gotta get ready. I gotta be off the property by 8:30.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Oh my God. They told you you have to be off the property by 8:30.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Off the property.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Oh my God. Swabe.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

What?

[Maria Hinojosa]

Oh my God. Suave. Oh my God.

[Maggie Freeling]

So now that Suave knows he'll be free in just a few months, he cannot stop thinking about all of these challenges he's gonna face trying to start his.

[Maria Hinojosa]

And this was a period of time that was also fascinating because, you know, Suave is this, you know, he's the Buddha, right? He's unmovable. I mean, he's just, you know, he's got it. It's all right. It's all good. It's all good. But now, I don't think until this conversation that I realized how much he was. It wasn't exactly doubt, but it was like, I'm really. Can I handle what's going to happen out there? You know, can I handle it?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I mean, the expectations that people have of us juveniles going out are high. I mean, are high. I ain't been in the street, you know, in 30 years, 31 years. How do I say good morning to somebody with them without interrupting? They, dad, do I just say good morning and how you doing? You know, because I'm a happy guy or do I just keep walking in mind? You know, that kind of stuff is. As I get closer to this process, it plays in my head, like going to the shower. Everybody in prison takes showers with clothes on, with shorts and shoes on. You know, I might not even think about it. Going to shower in the street with my clothes on. People probably be like, yo, this dude is crazy. I don't know how to use a fork. I never. I don't know how to use a knife to cut anything. But thank you for hearing me out, man. I needed. I needed somebody to talk to, man.

[Maria Hinojosa]

You can ask me anything. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.

[Maggie Freeling]

So at the end of the phone call, here you are telling this guy who spent most of his life in one of the toughest prisons in the country, not to be afraid, right?

[Maria Hinojosa]

I mean, I thought about it later, too, because here I am telling a man who grew up in the South Bronx, in Badlands of Philly, someone who was sentenced to life in prison. And I'm saying, don't worry, you're going to learn how to eat with a fork. It's going to be okay.

[Maggie Freeling]

And so Suave's last night finally rolls around. After years of prison calls. Your phone rings one last time.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Oh, my God. Okay, here we go.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

An inmate at SCI Greaterford. This is a call from Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution, Greaterford.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Luis Suave David Gonzalez in Greaterford. This is the. This is the last phone call ever in history to be recorded from Suave calling from Greaterford Prison to Maria Hinojosa. This is the last goddamn phone call. Suave.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Yes, I'm good. I've been up for two days. No, but I really need advice from you before Monday.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Yes, sir.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Some woman advice. Okay, I need advice. How do I deal? I got three. Three friends, but they all know I'm.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Coming up Wait a second. Are you talking about three women friends?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Yeah, three woman friends.

[Maria Hinojosa]

So what do you want? What's the advice?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I said, first of all, I want to even know what to say to a woman right from the door. I probably do. You know, I probably get the hang of it, but I probably wouldn't even know what they think about. Do I take a bouquet of flowers? Do I take one rose? You know, what kind of cologne I gotta wear? All that stuff. I think about all that.

[Maggie Freeling]

So women. That's all new. For almost 25 years, you and Suave have never talked about relationships.

[Maria Hinojosa]

I know. And I was like, okay, get ready for these kinds of conversations. You know, I had to think of him now as a man who was gonna need advice regarding women because, you know, I was probably, if not the only kind of solid woman in a relationship who he trusted, who was not a girlfriend that he could talk to. And I had to realize, like, look, he went into prison when he was a teenager, right? It's like, for him, coming out, even though he's a grown man, it's like he's still, you know, experiencing life as a teenager. And, like, that energy of teenage life, like, you just want to stay up forever. So I was like, no, no, no. Suave, really. You need to take a chill. You need to just breathe, and you need to get some rest. Swavi, you need to sleep, sweetie. You can't. You're going to crash.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I sleep when I get out. Pennsylvania State.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Last time, we're going to be interrupted.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

This call is subject to recording and monitoring.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Last time, our phone call is going to be recorded. Suavid. The last time our phone call is going to be recorded.

[Maggie Freeling]

So I'm listening to this tape of you and Suave, and you are so excited. Like, you. It is, like, elation. I've never heard you this excited, honestly. And I've known you for a while. And so I need to ask you, you know, at this point, is this still a journalistic tool?

[Maria Hinojosa]

Well, I mean, the truth is, Suave at this point was more than a story. Yeah. The lines got blurred. I mean, it's complicated. I came to really care and be interested about this person. Like, if there was a journalist who was gonna be like, hmm, he just served 31 years in prison. Let me write that down. I'm completely removed from this. It just wouldn't ring true.

[Maggie Freeling]

But let me push back on that, because I think that there might be a journalist who does kind of feel like that, because there is a victim here. And this man did spend 31 years in prison because of a crime that was committed that caused the death of a young person. And so do you think perhaps maybe you were too close to see that? You know, if Danny Martinez's family would hear this, I mean, maybe they would think that you were biased.

[Maria Hinojosa]

I don't know if it's so much about bias, but the story that I've been following has been Suave's story. It hasn't been Danny Martinez's story. And I made a decision about that when I started communicating with Suave. So the story was not, in my view, what had happened in the past. The story for me was what was going to happen in the future. And what was going to happen with the life of Suave won't have to.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Hear this phone call is being recorded ever again. Ever again. Let them record that ever again. Thank you for using Securus.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Goodbye. Oh, my God. I'm in tears. Oh, my God. Anybody had a rubber band? Hair time. Okay.

[Maggie Freeling]

It's finally November 20, 2017. The day swabe becomes a free man. You pack into a car with your producers before sunrise.

[Maria Hinojosa]

You know what? Can I have that egg McMuffin, please? Are they all the same?

[Maggie Freeling]

After two hours in the car, Graterford is in the horizon.

[Maria Hinojosa]

I can feel it. We're getting closer. Yes, this is says no alcohol, no firearms. All vehicles subject to search. All right, this is it.

[Maggie Freeling]

So once at Graterford, you have to wait in the lobby with some of Suave's friends, his lawyer and his older brother Tony.

[Maria Hinojosa]

And, you know, actually, all of us had not been together all at once at the same time. And, you know, we're meeting, we're together, we're, like, looking at the door, waiting, like, every time it opens, is it gonna be Suave? Are they really gonna release him? Until we see him walking through, you know, anything could happen. And then finally.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Oh, my God.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Can I argue?

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I gotta pull here first. Let me get my paperwork. Let me get out of here.

[Maria Hinojosa]

He's not in cuffs. And then that moment of just like, you know, everybody wanted to hug him. And then it was like all of us were just like, no, no, no, come on. You know, a hug. So, you know, Suave is so ready and excited and just ready to leave that he starts walking out the doors. But then the guard is like, hold on. You got that brown jumpsuit. You got to give it back. It's owned by the Department of corrections.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

All right.

[Maria Hinojosa]

30 years, right?

[Maggie Freeling]

Thank you.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

31. 31.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I'm sorry.

[Maria Hinojosa]

That's it.

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

All right.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Don't worry.

[Maria Hinojosa]

I remember the guard. Everybody was happy. Yes, ma'am. That was that moment. That was elation, pure elation.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Right? Okay, don't cry.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Don't cry. Please don't cry. And his brother Tony had done what brothers do. He had gone and like got a bunch of different clothes so that Suave could choose something that he wanted to wear. Like he gets to choose what he wants to wear now.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Nothing I can put on right now.

[Maria Hinojosa]

So he opens up this big bag, I think it was a. Looks like a garbage bag. And he pulls out this checkered button up shirt, an oversized brown leather jacket. And then he pulls out this Yankees cap, which actually it was the one thing that he said to his brother, that he had to have a new Yankees baseball cap. And he takes all that and he rushes into the bathroom to change. Don't take long, Suave. We don't want to leave you.

[Maggie Freeling]

Suave returns his uniform to the guard. And she hands him his Social Security card, an id. And you're out the door. Suave is a free man.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Can you get can the copy up here?

[Maria Hinojosa]

Swabbing?

[Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Yes.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Love you.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Maria, listen to me.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Look at me, look at me. Oh, he's out. He's out. Who would have thought this was gonna happen? Oh, man.

[Maria Hinojosa]

A picture.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. This is. Oh my God. I would never thought I'd see that.

[Maria Hinojosa]

So, you know, there's like a group of us, right? So people split up, riding in different cars. And I'm riding with Suave in the backseat of one car, and we're driving away and it's like, wow. Yes. The walls of Greaterford are in the rear view mirror. Like we're leaving them behind. We're driving away. Yes, swabbit, we're driving away from Greater Fern Swabbin. We're driving away.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I couldn't let them guards see me drop a te. Let them do that.

[Maria Hinojosa]

You can cry now, sweetie. You can cry now.

[Maggie Freeling]

There's so much happening right now. Suave's really overwhelmed. You're overwhelmed. And everyone just really needs to calm down. And so, Maria, you put on your song, the one that's gotten Suave through the hardest times in prison.

[Maria Hinojosa]

It was like. It was like a collective sigh, you know, this moment of just listening to the music, just all of us quiet, kind of doing that reality check of, oh my God, this is happening. And we've just got to breathe. She's here with me.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Guess I can put my bucket list out.

[Maria Hinojosa]

What? What?

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

My bucket list.

[Maria Hinojosa]

You have it Written down?

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Yes.

[Maria Hinojosa]

And then he reaches into his pocket and he pulls out this, like, crinkly piece of white lined school paper, unfolds it and. And then he starts reading.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

And what I wrote all them years ago, it says, even though I've been sentenced to died in prison by death by incarceration, I'm writing this wish list because if I ever get the chance to go home, I would love to do certain things to repair some of the wrong I've done. By conducting a few of the below tasks, I will be taking control of my life. The first thing on my list was speak to the youth at the North Philly School about the pitfalls of the streets in prison. Find me a good woman and marry her. I haven't done that yet. And then apologize to the community for my wrongdoing. Then when my mom passed away, I wrote a note. Be a good man. Take full responsibility for my action. I checked that one out. Get a GED or degree. I checked that one out. Create a scholarship. I checked that one out. Write a few books. I did that. And then the last one was find a legal way to get out of prison. Because staying alive in this piece of shit prison requires me to be a heartless motherfucker. And I could check that one out too.

[Maggie Freeling]

Coming up next time on Suave. Suave adjusts to his life as a free man.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

I go to to Planet Fitness every.

[Maria Hinojosa]

Morning at what time? 3.

[David Luis Suave Gonzalez]

Oh, about 5:00 in the morning. Me and Angela go every morning. Me and her make a perfect couple. You know, she's supportive and that's all I need.

[Maggie Freeling]

And then everything shatters.

[Maria Hinojosa]

How the hell did this happen?

[Maggie Freeling]

That's coming up next time on Suave. Suave is a production of Futuro Studios and distributed by prx. It's produced by me, Maggie Freeling and Julieta Martinelli. Additional field reporting by Aaron Moselle, Michael Simon Johnson, Zoe Malik and Zakiya Gibbons. We are edited by Audrey Quinn. Our executive editor is Marlon Bishop. Our director of production and operations is Natalia Fidelholtz. Our engineers are Stephanie Lebeau and Julia Caruso. Maria Hinojosa is the executive producer. Our fact checker is Amy Tardif. Original music from Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Segura. Production help from Lita Halwell, Juan Diego Ramirez, Maya Cueva, Sam Bernit, Fabian Caballero and Lily Hershey Webb. Special thanks to Marsha Levick at the juvenile law Center. David Santi, Suave's lawyer, Julia Kwamya, who voiced Sharon Benjamin, Rob Moriera who voiced Suave Shannon Atala, Jill Settlemeyer and Claire Fitzpatrick David Bohm, our private investigator Jodi Kent, Karma El Moussa and Heather Renwick at Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. Support for this podcast is provided by the Art for Justice Fund, a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the Heising Simons Foundation. Unlocking Knowledge, Opportunity and possibilities. [e-mail].

[Maria Hinojosa]

From PRX.