Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. In a lot of ways, the passage of time

can make reporting tough. You know, people scatter, information gets lost, that sort of thing.

But sometimes time can make reporting easier. People are ready to talk. Maybe they've got

nothing to lose anymore. That was the case for former NPR

reporter Barbara Bradley Haggerty when she started reporting on Benjamin Spencer, a man serving a life

sentence in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. She's written a book about it called

Bringing Ben Home. And in this interview with NPR's Elsa Chang, she talks about how, even after all of this

reporting about the criminal justice system and how simply unfair it can be, she's still

optimistic about reform. That's ahead.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.

On our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of

real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

In 1988, Benjamin Spencer was sentenced to life in prison for a brutal robbery and murder.

He has always insisted he did not commit.

Spencer spent the next 34 years in prison, dashing off letters almost every day to his wife, his friends, lawyers,

to anyone who would listen, claiming his innocence. He finally did walk out of prison in March of

2021, and he may finally be exonerated in the coming days. My former NPR colleague, Barbara

Bradley Haggerty, spent years re-investigating Spencer's case.

What drew me to Ben's story is that it showcased it's so easy to convict an innocent person, and it's nearly impossible to undo the mistake.

Especially for a black man in America.

Haggerty writes about this in her new book, Bringing Ben Home.

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