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844: This Is the Case of Henry Dee - This American Life | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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844: This Is the Case of Henry Dee

This American Life

Sun Oct 20 2024

Thirteen parole board members decide whether or not one man should be released from prison.

Summary

This American Life - Episode 844: This Is the Case of Henry Dee

Host: Ira Glass
Reporter: Ben Austin
Release Date: October 20, 2024

1. Introduction to Parole Hearings

Ira Glass sets the stage by introducing the seldom-heard process of parole hearings in Illinois. He explains that while many states have abolished or limited parole due to concerns over subjectivity and fairness, Illinois still conducts these hearings. The episode delves into the intricacies of such hearings, focusing on the monumental decisions parole boards must make regarding an individual's release after decades of incarceration.

"Parole hearings, the system where somebody with a long sentence comes before somebody and gets a chance to get out, that's been abolished in about a third of all the states."
(00:50)

2. The Case of Henry Dee

Ben Austin introduces the central figure of the episode, Henry Dee, a 72-year-old man incarcerated for nearly 50 years for the brutal murders of Arthur and Edith Snyder in 1971. Dee's case is particularly noteworthy because, despite his extensive time in prison, he has rarely been considered for parole—only one board member has ever voted in his favor over two dozen hearings.

"The man they're considering for release in this case is 72 years old, been locked up for almost 50 years, most of his life."
(06:27)

3. Henry Dee's Crime and Conviction

The crime committed by Henry Dee in 1971 was heinous. Alongside co-defendant James Sayles, Dee brutally murdered Arthur and Edith Snyder during a home invasion. Despite the severity of the crime, Dee has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming that evidence was planted and that he was wrongfully convicted.

"Henry D. says he'd be more ready to vote for parole if Henry D. just hadn't said he was innocent."
(35:52)

4. Life in Prison: Rehabilitation and Infractions

Despite his early escape attempts in 1979 and 1980, Henry Dee's subsequent behavior in prison has been exemplary. He has been described as a "model prisoner," with only four disciplinary infractions over three decades. Dee has earned certifications in sheet metal work, contributed to correctional industries, and served as a mediator among inmates and staff.

"He has been saving money and he has the financial and other support from Juan Rivera."
(19:03)

5. The Parole Hearing: Deliberations and Dynamics

During the parole hearing, board member Virginia Martinez presents Dee's case, highlighting his impeccable prison record and his ongoing claims of innocence. The board members engage in a detailed discussion, questioning the veracity of Dee's claims and the implications of his lack of remorse.

"He has completely changed whoever he was at the time. I mean, he's now 73 years old."
(27:19)

Board members debate the balance between justice for the victims and the potential for Dee's rehabilitation. Sal Diaz, a former Chicago cop, voices skepticism about Dee's innocence but opts to vote in his favor regardless.

"I think he's dirty, but I'm going to vote for him."
(44:12)

6. The Vote and Decision

Ultimately, the parole board votes nine to four in favor of releasing Henry Dee. This decision is significant given the rarity of parole approvals in his case. The emotions in the room are palpable, reflecting the gravity of granting parole to someone convicted of such a brutal crime.

"He received eight votes, is that correct? Nine. Nine votes."
(44:25)

7. After Parole: Henry Dee's Release and Death

Following his parole, Henry Dee's freedom is short-lived. Despite initial celebrations and support from prison staff and fellow inmates, Dee faces numerous challenges adapting to life outside prison. Without a stable support system, ongoing health issues, and limited understanding of the outside world, Dee's release culminates in his untimely death less than a year later.

"From O'Hare, he gets on a train. He's got directions written out on paper. He doesn't have a cell phone. He makes it to a Salvation army on the city's west side. That's where he sleeps. He later moves to a homeless shelter. ... He's admitted to the hospital. He has diabetes fluid on his lungs, and after a Few days there, he's dead."
(50:44 - 56:07)

8. Reflections and Implications

Ben Austin reflects on the broader implications of Henry Dee's case, questioning the effectiveness and fairness of the parole system. He discusses the emotional toll on victims' families, noting that Dee's daughter-opponent felt that no amount of good behavior could atone for taking lives. Austin also highlights the statistical reality that most parole candidates are elderly and pose minimal risk of reoffending, yet only a small percentage are actually granted parole.

"The United States locks up more people than any other country. About one in six of all the incarcerated people in the world. ... Many will die there. They deserve another."
(48:00)

Austin contemplates whether the parole system should be reformed or expanded, recognizing both its potential for second chances and its susceptibility to bias and randomness.

Notable Quotes

Ira Glass (00:50): "Parole hearings, the system where somebody with a long sentence comes before somebody and gets a chance to get out, that's been abolished in about a third of all the states."
Virginia Martinez (06:38): "This is a case of Henry D, number C01657. Mr. D is currently 72 years of age, having been born on August 24, 1946."
Sal Diaz (44:12): "I think he's dirty, but I'm going to vote for him."
Ben Austin (48:00): "The United States locks up more people than any other country. ... They deserve another."

Conclusion

"This Is the Case of Henry Dee" offers a profound exploration of the parole system through the lens of one man's decades-long incarceration. It raises essential questions about justice, rehabilitation, and the possibility of redemption, while also highlighting the emotional complexities faced by both those seeking release and the families of victims. The episode underscores the enduring impact of our criminal justice decisions and the human stories behind them.

Produced by: Aviva DeKornfeld
Edited by: David Kestenbaum
Fact-Checked by: Christopher Sotala, Hina Shivastava, Rudy Lee

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Transcript

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Ira Glass (0:31)

Hey there, it's Ira with a quick message before the podcast starts. Maybe you heard the little announcement episode that we dropped into the feed a few days ago, but if not, I just want to say here. We just launched a new subscription version of our show and we did that like I explained in that episode, because the podcast industry has changed in ways that have affected everybody's ad revenue. We're making a third less from advertising this year than we have in recent years. And so we needed to replace that money and we wanted to do it in a way that could also be kind of nice for our listeners. And so we launched this premium subscription version of the show that we're calling this American Life Partners. And the idea is that if you subscribe, you get an ad free version of the show. You get exclusive bonus content, stuff that we're going to put out regularly only for subscribers, and you get a brand new greatest hits archive. And basically what we do with this is I handpicked over 250 favorite episodes and those will appear right in your podcast app, like just below the new episodes. But mainly, of course, when we're asking you to subscribe, the thing that we're asking you to do is to just join us in making the show. I really think that this is the future of the show, is making it with listeners. So go to thisamericanlife.org lifepartners that link is also in the show notes of this episode. And if you happen to listen on Apple Podcasts, you can sign up right in the app on our show page. All right, I'm going to stop there. Here is this week's episode. From WBEZ Chicago, this is American Life. I'm Ira Glass. So this is going to be one of those shows where I'm just going to say a few things here and then get out of the way. It's based on a single kind of remarkable recording of a thing that happens all over the country, but you never really get to hear it. It's a parole hearing in Illinois. Thirteen people in a small room having to decide, should a man be released from prison this fact surprised me. Parole hearings, the system where somebody with a long sentence comes before somebody and gets a chance to get out, that's been abolished in about a third of all the states. Most other states have limited it in various ways. The reasons for that, people in prison and their advocates said it was really subjective, racially biased, unfair. There was no way to repeal the decisions. They said too few people were being set free. Conservatives, meanwhile, found it too lenient. They said too many people were being set free. So very few people get out of prison thanks to a parole board hearing determining if it's time for their incarceration to end. Though right now, there is a lot of talk about expanding the use of parole boards, making more people eligible. There's a bill in the New York State assembly, two competing bills in Illinois, and there in other states, too. Reporter Ben Austin got interested in the question at the heart of all this. What is actually happening in those parole board hearings? How do they make these monumental decisions? What sways them? What doesn't? These boards are trying to adjudicate these very squishy, nearly impossible questions like when is a person rehabilitated? How can you tell? When should a long prison sentence end? This next question is almost too grand to say out loud, but it is in there, too. What is justice? All this plays out in this weird backwater of the judicial system. It doesn't get a lot of scrutiny. Can you remember the last time you saw a news story, any news story, about a parole board hearing? And for all the TV dramas about, I have to say, almost every aspect of the criminal justice system in all of its parts, there is none set in a parole board. Bang lives in Illinois and spent more than a year going to every parole board hearing there. They happen once a month, each one looking at five or 10 cases, and he put together what you're about to hear. The man they're considering for release in this case is 72 years old, been locked up for almost 50 years, most of his life. The pro board has some information about the case, but definitely not everything you would want. That's part of what makes this so interesting. Listening to this hearing, how they deal with that. This is actually one of the hearings that Ben sat through on his very first day going to these hearings. Basically, he and his producer, Bill Healy, showed up through two recorders on the table in the middle of the room and captured this conversation that you're about to hear, and it just stuck with him. This case, not just the difficulty of the decision that they had to make or all the stuff that they wished they knew but didn't know. But the ruling they came to stuck with them. Okay, enough said. Here's Ben Austin.

Ben Austin (44:59)

After 48 years of incarceration, Henry D. Was going free. The whole thing took less than an hour. Of the seven cases the board considers today, this is the only one granted release. And I can't stop thinking about it. It's all my producer Bill and I talk about on the three hour drive back from Springfield to Chicago because we just saw a long prison sentence end. It's impossible to sit through these hearings and not think about what decision you would make. For me. There's no question I would have voted for release. And I want to be clear about what it means to say that because two people were murdered and I don't think we'll ever know what happened, I'm saying that even if Henry D. Did kill Edith and Arthur Snyder back in 1971 and lied about it all these years, even then, to me it was time to let Henry D. Out. Past time we spent a long time trying to get in touch with the family of Edith and Arthur Snyder. I did eventually reach their daughter. She's now about 80 years old. She told me she strongly opposed Dee's release, had written a letter to the board before this hearing and for nearly every one of his hearings over the years. She believes he's guilty. And she says even if you're a saint in prison, if you take a life, it's forever, so you should never be let out. We talked for a while about parole, about our different views on punishment. She said, had your loved ones been killed, maybe it'd feel the same way. I Do. I told her that was a fair point. I still believe what I believe, but it's true. I haven't gone through what she has. I didn't say this earlier, but Illinois is one of the states that got rid of parole way back in 1978. So only people like Henry D sentenced before 1978 are still eligible for hearings like this one. So the people who come before this board are mostly in their 60s and above. They're senior citizens, which means on any actuarial table, they pose very little risk of committing another crime. And still the parole board only says yes to a tiny percentage in the 15 years before D's hearing, just 6% of them. So who makes the cut? In the numerous cases I've seen, the people who did get released, there's always a story that enough board members were able to latch onto something that allowed them finally to move beyond that magnetic pull of the long ago crime. In Henry D's case, it was the unbridgeable distance between the brutality of the murders and the peacefulness of his life in prison. Another guy I saw get paroled, he had a surgery that left him bleeding in his cell for years. The horror of his medical care in prison made his offense seem to the board almost beside the point. And then this other time, a man not only escaped, but lived under an alias in a different state for years. He was a beloved member of that community before he was apprehended again. The board, to my shock, saw that time when he was at large, like a test case for the positive life he'd live if they gave him another chance. I've thought a lot about whether Illinois and the rest of the country should bring back parole, whether it makes sense to get more people in front of boards again. Parole decisions can be racially biased, completely focused on the original crime, and just random. But even knowing all this, I think we need more systems of second chances. The United States locks up more people than any other country. About one in six of all the incarcerated people in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of people in prisons like Henry D. They've spent decades behind bars. Many will die there. They deserve another. Look.

Ben Austin (50:44)

Even after sitting through Henry D's parole hearing, I didn't really know him. I hadn't even seen or heard him. So I tried to find out more. Here's what I learned after Henry D makes parole, people at the prison celebrate, even the staff. And the day he walks out the front gate, he's getting hugs and congratulations from everyone. His mother's still alive, in her 90s. She's not walking. She can't meet him there, but Henry is ecstatic to see her. He gets outside, his first free air in 48 years, and there are federal officers waiting for him. They handcuff him, put him in a car. Henry has no idea what's going on. He eventually learns it's for one of the attempted escapes all those decades ago. He's been granted parole by the state, but the feds are tacking on two more years. He's driven to a federal prison in Pennsylvania. His mom dies during that time. 27 months later, the feds put him on a plane to Chicago. He's never flown before, has no idea how to board, where to sit. The flight attendants learn his story and move him to first class. He has to turn down the free drinks because he doesn't want to violate his parole. From O'Hare, he gets on a train. He's got directions written out on paper. He doesn't have a cell phone. He makes it to a Salvation army on the city's west side. That's where he sleeps. He later moves to a homeless shelter. The friend from inside who won the wrongful conviction suit, who promised Henry a job and a home. It doesn't pan out, so Henry's trying to figure out his new surroundings, his new life. But he has medical issues. Eventually, he's admitted to the hospital. He has diabetes fluid on his lungs, and after a Few days there, he's dead. Henry D. Was incarcerated for 50 years. He lives free. After his release for less than 12 months. I tracked down a few people who knew Henry D. Well, I want to take these last few minutes to tell you some things about him. Henry D. Wore a frog pin around the prison. He'd leave the cell house, walk onto the yard, and dozens of stray cats would appear. He'd feed them. He was a large man, hands like catcher's mitts. When young guys asked him who his gang chief was, he'd tell them his mom. Because of his diabetes, he could get jittery or pass out on the toilet in his cell. And his friends were always on watch for him. For nine years, the person who lived with him in a six by eight foot cell was a guy named Jacob Rivera.