‘Dying on the Inside’ podcast highlights stories of women lifers

In Episode 2 of “Dying on the Inside,” a new podcast produced by the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting at Temple University, Terri Harper recites a list of ailments and surgeries—seven over just the last 15 years—that have deteriorated her body.

At 57 years old, Harper has served 35 years of a life sentence at State Correctional Institution (SCI) Muncy, a medium to maximum security women’s prison in Pennsylvania. In addition to two back surgeries, both of Harper’s hands have been surgically repaired for carpal tunnel syndrome, and, like many incarcerated women nationwide, she’s had a hysterectomy. Long waits between diagnoses and surgical operations became a routine feature of her medical journey—one that is shared by many other aging lifers.

“For women lifers, there’s too much ‘wait and see,’ as a theory and as a practice [in healthcare],” Harper said. “Too much pushing it off and not taking the problem seriously right off the top.”

Each of the five episodes in the series, hosted and co-executive produced by Cherri Gregg of Studio 2, offers a window into the lives of the roughly 150 aging women serving life sentences at Muncy. On May 13, at a launch event for the podcast, Gregg shared that one of the goals of the series is to open up the “layers” of incarceration that are rarely discussed. 

“This conversation is not about excusing harm,” Gregg said. “It is a conversation about understanding people fully, and what growth, redemption, and public safety really mean over time.” 

Women Lifers Resume Project

According to 2022 data from decarceration-focused nonprofit The Sentencing Project, roughly 7,000 women nationwide are serving life sentences or virtual life sentences (a sentence of 50 years or more). The “Dying On the Inside” podcast is one of a few sustained efforts to highlight the stories of women lifers. Since 2015, the Women Lifers Resume Project of PA (WLRP) has amplified the experiences and, notably, the accomplishments and aspirations of women lifers across Pennsylvania. 

The project site hosts the “résumés” of over 70 women lifers incarcerated at Muncy and SCI Cambridge Springs. Each profile includes how long the woman has been incarcerated, her age at entry, her future objectives should she be released, and information about activities and educational and vocational programs she’s been involved in while inside. The résumés end with a personal statement titled “The Woman I Am Now.” 

“When we received their written résumés, we did not go in to say, ‘Oh, we’re going to make this more professional.’ We let them be who they are and express themselves as who they are,” said WLRP co-developer Darlene Williams, who became involved with the project through her daughter, who is serving a life sentence at Muncy. 

Williams and fellow co-developer Ellen Melchiondo say these résumés are useful tools for women applying for compassionate release, for lawyers taking up their cases, and grassroots organizations advocating for the release of women lifers or improved prison conditions. The résumés also serve to counteract the stereotypes and misconceptions that pervade public perception of women lifers. 

Williams told Prism about a movie she saw about women in a New York prison after her daughter was sentenced.

“They didn’t show the camaraderie, they didn’t show the friendships. They showed them fighting in the cells, and they just showed them as animals,” Williams said. “If you don’t know anyone in prison, [then] you don’t know that there are families inside these facilities. My daughter belongs to a family. They’re close buddies; they’re like sisters.”  

Melchiondo echoed these sentiments and connected them to arguments and misconceptions around women lifers, their behavior inside prison, and their likelihood of returning should they be released.

“They’re not monsters, and because they are there so long, they invest a lot of time and energy to maintain the highest quality of life for themselves,” said Melchiondo. “People say, ‘Oh, they’re lifers, they’ve got nothing to lose. They’re just going to commit crimes and mess with the system and everything.’ But no, they want everything predictable. Everybody pitches in and makes that day the best they can.”

Harper is among the over 70 women featured on the WLRP.

“In order to expect to be seen and treated outside of the stereotype of my sentence, I must demonstrate my understanding of the difference between right and wrong,” Harper wrote in her 2023 résumé. “I do. Then, someone must give me the opportunity to actually physically demonstrate what I know and have learned because what is on paper is only a fraction of that knowledge. The proof is in the action. I’m asking you to be that person to give me that opportunity through your legislative power.”

This year, that opportunity is fast approaching as her most recent application for clemency is up for merit review in July. The review represents one step in Pennsylvania’s winding clemency process.

Clemency in Pennsylvania

Over the past half-decade, the process of releasing individuals from life sentences has grown increasingly complicated, limiting the prospects of those seeking to return home and dramatically increasing how many people are aging inside. According to The Appeal, 12% of Pennsylvania’s prison population is serving life without parole; one-third of those are ages 55 or older. 

After applying for clemency, Pennsylvania lifers may have to wait up to a year and a half before their petition is even acknowledged. The first stage is an institutional review involving an interview with the prison superintendent. If the review is successful, the application advances to a merit review. 

Four merit reviews are scheduled this year, during which hundreds of applications are considered. At these reviews, the Board of Pardons, consisting of a victim advocate, a corrections expert, a medical expert, the state’s lieutenant governor, and the attorney general considers the applicants’ institutional record, the activities and programs they have participated in, their personal statement, and letters submitted by the public either in support of or in opposition to their release. 

If at least three of the five members approve, the application advances to a public hearing after which the board must unanimously vote in support of sending the petition to the governor. Pennsylvania’s process is unlike that of other states, such as New York, which grants the governor unilateral clemency power. In Pennsylvania, only 17 women serving life sentences have been granted clemency in the past 50 years. 

Despite this labyrinthine process—and the fact that this is Terri Harper’s second attempt to receive clemency—her younger sister, Cashmere Harper, is hopeful that her petition will be successful. The sisters have maintained their relationship over the past three decades through visits and phone calls. 

“When she first got arrested, I was 6. [But] before that, everybody thought that Terri was actually my mom—that’s how close we were,” Cashmere said. “We’re 17 years apart, but we’re as close as Siamese twins, is what I like to say to people.” 

As detailed on her résumé, Terri has been involved in a host of organizations at Muncy, pursued higher education, and continued athletic training before medical complications started impacting her body. Cashmere said that she is particularly proud of her sister’s most recent achievement: earning an associate’s degree to become a paralegal, a step toward her larger goal of practicing family law. 

Cashmere said she hopes that members of the public who learn about her sister’s story will support her clemency petition by penning letters of support to the Board of Pardons in advance of her upcoming merit review. She also hopes the public will assess her sister based on the woman she is now and not her past choices. 

“Even back then, [she] was just an amazing person. She wanted to help people. She was a police officer, and so she automatically was in a place where she wanted to help people and wanted to make a difference,” Cashmere said. “She just made one bad decision, and she’s been paying for it ever since. No matter what people believe, at the end of the day, she’s still human, and that alone should get her a little respect, a little sympathy.”

Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Lara Witt, Top Editor
Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor