In 2019, Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, began communicating with Yutico Briley, an inmate at a prison in Jackson, La. Mr. Briley first reached out to Ms. Bazelon after hearing her on the radio talking about “Charges,” her book on how prosecutors have historically used their power to increase incarceration. At age 19, Mr. Briley was imprisoned and sentenced to 60 years without the possibility of parole, in part, for a robbery he said he did not commit. Ms. Bazelon decided to become involved in his case in a way that she had never done before.