David Luis Gonzalez

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David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez is an artist and activist who was sentenced to life without parole at age 17. He was released from prison in 2017 but given a sentence of lifetime parole, after a Supreme Court ruling that banned life sentences for juveniles. The podcast Suave, winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 2022, recounts his story as someone re-entering society after three decades in prison.

Contents

Prison

Gonzalez grew up in the South Bronx. [1] After his grandfather was murdered in front of him, his family moved to Philadelphia. [2] When he was 17 years old, Gonzalez was arrested for the first-degree homicide of a 13 year old boy. He was accused of shooting the boy while trying to steal his leather jacket. [3] [4] Gonzalez was sentenced to life without parole, [3] which he served at State Correctional Institution – Graterford. [5] Gonzalez later stated that he did not commit the crime. [6] [7]

According to Gonzalez, he was suicidal in prison and took part in many fights. [5] [8] [4] He convinced his friend to invite journalist Maria Hinojosa as a guest speaker at Graterford after hearing her on the radio. [5] After her talk, he asked for advice, and Hinojosa told him he could serve as her source about the criminal justice system and be a "voice for the voiceless". [5] [3] [4] He credits this conversation with motivating him to improve his life. Hinojosa and Gonzalez met in 1993, stayed in touch, and eventually became friends. [5] [4] Gonzalez has said that having a friendship with someone outside of prison gave him hope and indicated that his "humanity wasn’t really lost". [9] [8]

When Gonzalez met Hinojosa, he was illiterate and believed that his IQ was 56. [4] [6] With the help of another inmate, Gonzalez learned how to read. [6] [10] After eight attempts, he completed his GED and later attained a Bachelor's Degree in education and marketing from Villanova University. [2] [6] [10] Gonzalez served as president of LACEO, an organization which provides scholarships funded by incarcerated people, who are paid as little as 19 cents per hour. [4] [11] In 2014, Gonzalez gave a TEDx Talk at Graterford about LACEO and his life. [12]

While Gonzalez was in prison, his mother died, and he was not permitted to attend her funeral. [4] [7]

Release

In 2012, the United States Supreme Court found that mandatory sentences of life without parole are unconstitutional for juveniles in Miller v. Alabama. [10] [13] Four years later, in Montgomery v. Louisiana, the Court found that this also applied to people who had previously been sentenced. [5] [14]

At age 48, Gonzalez was released on November 20, 2017, on lifetime parole. [4] [15] That same day, he visited Esperanza College in Hunting Park, Philadelphia, to ask them to provide educational programs to incarcerated people. Additionally, he gave a speech at Esperanza Academy Charter School in which he asked for forgiveness from the community and urged students to stay out of prison. [4] Hinjosa and a video crew accompanied him and filmed the events. [14]

Since 2022, Gonzalez has worked with I Am More, a program at the Philadelphia Community College that assists formerly incarcerated individuals with re-entry through supportive services and education. [14] [2] [16] Gonzalez still deals with trauma from his incarceration [3] [5] [13] and has pointed to education, especially about technology, as key for preventing recidivism. [6] [10]

Suave Podcast

Hinojosa recorded her conversations with Gonzalez, some of which were later included in Suave, a podcast about Gonzalez's life and the US criminal justice system. [3] [5] [9] Due to the closeness of her relationship with Gonzalez, Hinojosa did not produce the show and recruited journalist Maggie Freleng to serve as her co-host. [13] [3] Suave was produced by PRX and Futuro Studios and released in 2021. [9] The podcast won a International Documentary Association Award for Best Multi-Part Audio Documentary or Series and a Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting in 2022. [14] [9] The official Pulitzer announcement called Suave: "a brutally honest and immersive profile of a man reentering society after serving more than 30 years in prison." [9] [17] Season 2, which premiered in April 2025, focuses on Gonzalez's life after prison. [18]

Art

Gonzalez is a painter and mixed media artist. [16] [19] While in prison, he created art with whatever materials he could find including coffee grounds and markers; he fashioned paint brushes from plastic spoons, glue from toothpaste, and paint from magazine photos and water. [20] [21] In collaboration with other artists, he painted a mural called Healing Walls in Graterford that was later installed in Philadelphia. [21] [22] After his release, Gonzalez participated in the 2018 Reimagining Reentry Fellowship run by Mural Arts Philadelphia. [14] [23] [24] His artwork has been included in shows with other formerly incarcerated artists including "We are all doing Time" at the Morton Contemporary gallery in Philadelphia [20] [19] and "Faces of Resilience" at Mason Exhibitions in Arlington, Virginia. [25] [26] He continues to incorporate a wide variety of materials into his art including notebook wire, shoelaces, paint chips, and court documents. [20] [19]

References

  1. "Suave Gonzalez | Artwork | Morton Contemporary Gallery". Morton Contemporary. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  2. 1 2 3 "Former juvenile lifer offers hope through 'I am More' program". WHYY. 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sturges, Fiona (2021-02-15). "US justice under scrutiny in the podcast Suave". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Melamed, Samantha (2017-11-21). "On his first day out, a juvenile lifer is determined to make good". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2024-12-20. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ""Suave": New Podcast Follows One Man's Journey to Freedom After a Life Sentence Without Parole at 17". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Gonzalez, David Luis “Suave” (2024-11-24). "Suave: In my journey from solitary confinement to a Pulitzer, access to education and tech was key". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2024-11-25. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  7. 1 2 Medina, Rosa (2022-06-03). "The extraordinary story of a self-proclaimed ordinary man, Pulitzer Prize-winner "Suave"". Impacto (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  8. 1 2 "From prison to podcast: 'Suave' explores the friendship between a journalist and a juvenile lifer". MSNBC.com. 2021-03-14. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Castillo, Amaris (2022-05-09). "'Suave' – a podcast from Futuro Media and PRX – wins Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting". Poynter. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Thomas, Rahsaan “New York” (2022-10-20). "The Department of Corrections Couldn't Stop This Lifer From Winning a Pulitzer Prize—It Tried". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  11. Gonzalez, David Luis (August 2011). "Education Over Incarceration". Against the Current. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  12. TEDx Talks (2014-07-03). A difference from an unusual place | Luis Gonzalez | TEDxGraterfordStatePrison . Retrieved 2025-02-26 via YouTube.
  13. 1 2 3 Romo, Vanessa (2022-05-10). "Winner praises the Pulitzer board's commitment to the 'heart' in journalism". NPR. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Ubiñas, Helen (2022-03-09). "He learned how to read behind bars. Now he wants other returning citizens to go to college | Helen Ubiñas". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  15. "Podcast 'Suave' Explores 1 Man's Life After His Release From Prison". NPR. 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  16. 1 2 Irizarry, Johnny (2025). "Puerto Rican Arts in Philadelphia: Una Perla Boricua en Filadelfia". In Dávila, Arlene; Ramirez, Yasmin (eds.). Nuyorican and Diasporican Visual Art: A Critical Anthology. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN   9781478060208.
  17. "Audio Reporting". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  18. ""Suave" Returns: Maria Hinojosa and Suave on Freedom, Breakdown & Redemption After 31 Years in Prison". Democracy Now!. 2025-04-14. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  19. 1 2 3 "Morton Contemporary presents We Are All Doing Time". Broad Street Review. 2025-01-13. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  20. 1 2 3 Cartagena, Rosa (2025-03-15). "Here's your last chance to see the works of Suave Gonzalez and five other artists who criticize the prison system". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2025-03-15. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  21. 1 2 Golden, Jane (2024-10-30). "Art Ignites Change for the People of Philadelphia". The Philadelphia Citizen. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  22. "The Art as Resistance Gallery 2018". Philadelphia FIGHT. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  23. "Reimagining Reentry Fellowship". Mural Arts Philadelphia. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  24. "Faces of formerly incarcerated adorn downtown Philly building". WHYY. 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  25. "Mason Exhibitions | Faces of Resilience". East City Art. 2024-01-08. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  26. "Reflecting on Faces of Resilience". Transitioning Justice Lab George Mason University. Retrieved 2025-03-21.