Introducing Dear Governor

In issuing his moratorium on capital punishment in California, Governor Gavin Newsom went on record saying he believes there are innocent people on Death Row. “Dear Governor” invites the listener to get to know Jarvis Jay Masters, a condemned prisoner who has maintained his innocence for over 30 years. After sharing intimate details of his life story and his ongoing legal case, we ask the listener to answer for themselves, “Is the death penalty a necessary evil to keep our streets safe, to exact righteous punishment and to deliver a semblance of justice to victims – or is it too fraught with ambiguity, contradictions and biases to ensure that we are all protected equally under the law?”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dear Governor Newsom, Dear Mr Governor Newsom, this is an
open letter to Governor Gavin Newsom. It would be a
bold move to exoner h Jarvis Masters, and it would
not give him back the decades that he has lived
at San Quentin after a grave miscarriage of justice. In
this podcast, Dear Governor, myself, along with the community of supporters,

(00:21):
want to introduce you and the Governor of California to
the man who is Jarvis Masters. My name is Jarvis Pastors.
I have been an inmate at Saint Quentin ins ACU
for or thirty years, forty years ship half for a
long time. I clear, sometimes you just want to let

(00:43):
that self go right and you want to keep it low.
You know, you want like you know you don't want.
You know what it is if you just see something
different all of us. I have been an inmate at
San Quentin's prison for almost forty years. I am certainly
guilty of the crimes that brought me here, and I'm
all in the mistakes I'm made, and I've paid my dues.

(01:06):
When I'm not guilty of the climate put me here
theirth row for the last third years. When you put
a moratorium on the death penalty. Governor Newsom made a
call to our better angels because he said, when you
know better, you do better. There are innocent people on
death row. I cannot sign off on executing hundreds and

(01:28):
hundreds of human beings before the penalty phase. Do you
remember the moment when you heard the jury come back
and say guilty. Yeah, I was really missed at that.
It became real. This is the story of one man,
but it's not merely one man's story. I hope time

(01:49):
to listen to my story, and I hope you have
the heart to recognize the unjust reality of capital punishment.
Somebody guilty, mayors have to be put to justify the
execution of one innocent there. I'm Corny Cole and I'm
host of Dear Governor, a new podcast from I Heart

(02:10):
Radio about renowned Buddhist author Jarvis Masters, who has steadfastly
maintained his innocence since he was sentenced to death almost
thirty years ago. From the confines of his nine by
four cell. Jarvis will share his riveting life story how
he has managed to maintain a sense of optimism in
the most dire circumstances, and he'll provide the details of

(02:31):
the bloody murder that landed him on death row. They
said that I sharpened the weapon and sent it down
to the guy who then made it into a toll
and spirit the guard. With newly disclosed evidence that bolsters
Jarvis's claims of innocence, will the California Supreme Court exonerate
him or reaffirm his death sentence. I'm waiting for the

(02:54):
habeas quote is further to come in. I have been
waiting twenty six years for it. Won't get anybody. I'll
get through by far. You'll hear the testimony. You be
the judge, dear governor. The podcast listen and subscribe on
the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcasts. H