New WHYY investigative podcast gives voice to aging female lifers
April 23, 2026
The Philadelphia Tribune: “A new investigative podcast examining aging, illness and life sentences inside Pennsylvania’s largest women’s prison debuted Wednesday evening before a packed audience at WHYY studios, reigniting debate over life without parole and what justice looks like for people growing old behind bars.
‘Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison’ is a five-part series investigating the human, financial and policy consequences of a rapidly aging prison population, with a focus on women incarcerated at State Correctional Institution Muncy in Lycoming County.
The podcast comes at a pivotal moment. Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down mandatory life without parole sentences for second-degree murder, triggering renewed conversations about resentencing, prison health care and possible release pathways for people who have spent decades incarcerated….
The launch event included a panel featuring Dannielle Hadley, whose sentence at Muncy was commuted after 38 years; Rupalee Rashatwar, an attorney with the Abolitionist Law Center; Noah Barth, prison monitoring director for the Pennsylvania Prison Society; and state Rep. Andre Carroll, a Philadelphia Democrat and member of the House Judiciary Committee….