WBUR and The Marshall Project release new podcast "Violation" on the case of Jacob Wideman
WBUR, March 22, 2023: WBUR and The Marshall Project release new podcast "Violation" on the case of Jacob Wideman
“WBUR, Boston's NPR, and The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization focused on criminal justice, today released episode one of a new podcast, Violation. It focuses on the case of Jacob Wideman, who was released from prison after serving more than 30 years for stabbing a fellow teen to death while traveling with their summer camp to the Grand Canyon in 1986. Though Wideman was released from prison on parole in 2016, he returned just nine months later under very unusual circumstances.
“Podcast fans may recognize the name Jake Wideman from Serial's The Coldest Case In Laramie. Jake, who went to high school in Laramie, Wyoming, falsely confesses to the crime at the center of that podcast (episode five). And literature fans may recognize the name John Edgar Wideman, Jake's father. He's an acclaimed writer and Rhodes Scholar whose body of work includes his groundbreaking memoir Brothers and Keepers and two PEN/Faulkner award-winning books, Philadelphia Fire and Sent for You Yesterday. While his writing tackles race, justice and trauma, John Edgar Wideman has not spoken publicly about his son's case, at least not directly, until now. This podcast marks his first in-depth interview about Jake.
“In Violation, host and staff writer for The Marshall Project Beth Schwartzapfel investigates Wideman's winding and complicated story.”
Additional reading:
AZ Central, January 2, 2019: Released Arizona killer Jacob Wideman appeals reimprisonment
