The FRONTLINE Dispatch

Part Three of the Living With Murder Series.

In December 2017, after serving 30 years of his life sentence, Kempis Songster left Graterford Prison on lifetime parole.

A lot has happened since then. He now lives in Philadelphia. He’s working, married and became a father.  One year after Reporter/Producer Samantha Broun and Kempis Songster stopped recording their conversations for the Living with Murder series, they return with this series’ update on what Kempis’ life looks like today. This story was produced in collaboration with the public radio website Transom.org.

At 15, after committing a brutal murder, Kempis Songster was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But now he has a chance to be free, thanks to a series of recent Supreme Court rulings that found the sentences of thousands of inmates who, like Songster, committed their crimes as juveniles, to be unconstitutional.

This episode produced in collaboration with Transom.org.

At 15, after committing a brutal murder, Kempis Songster was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But now he has a chance to be free, thanks to a series of recent Supreme Court rulings that found the sentences of thousands of inmates who, like Songster, committed their crimes as juveniles, to be unconstitutional.

This episode was a collaboration with Transom.org.

In this special episode for kids, FRONTLINE follows a day in the life of Muzamil, a 12-year-old Somali boy growing up Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee Camp. Producer Bianca Giaever and Reporter Roopa Gogineni bring him questions from American kids about what it’s like growing up in a refugee camp. Are there dentists? A fire department? What is your dreamland? Muzamil takes us through his daily life, answering questions from American kids along the way.

This episode was produced in partnership with Firelight Media. You can see pictures of Dadaab, Muzamil, and his friends here: https://to.pbs.org/2CAnQwN

Scott Gaines was a first responder on 9/11. When he retired a couple months later, he thought he’d escaped the aftermath unscathed. This time on The FRONTLINE Dispatch, a story about the lasting impacts of 9/11 – told by his daughter, reporter Amy Gaines.

This story was produced by Michelle Mizner and Sophie McKibben.

A young black man was dead. A young white cop was quickly fired. If that sounds surprising, you don’t know the half of it. This is a shocking story about police and the use of lethal force. Just not the one you might expect.

This story was done in collaboration with ProPublica. It was reported by Joe Sexton and produced by Sophie McKibben. You can read an accompanying print piece written by Joe Sexton here.

The second season of The FRONTLINE Dispatch launches on November 29th.

The FRONTLINE Dispatch comes to you from the producers and reporters of the PBS investigative documentary series FRONTLINE. New episodes biweekly. Subscribe now.

At 15, after committing a brutal murder, Kempis Songster was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But now he has a chance to be free, thanks to a series of recent Supreme Court rulings that found the sentences of thousands of inmates who, like Songster, committed their crimes as juveniles, to be unconstitutional.

This episode was a collaboration with Transom.org.

At 15, after committing a brutal murder, Kempis Songster was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But now he has a chance to be free, thanks to a series of recent Supreme Court rulings that found the sentences of thousands of inmates who, like Songster, committed their crimes as juveniles, to be unconstitutional.

This episode produced in collaboration with Transom.org.

There are more than 2,000 people in prisons around the country who were convicted of murder as juveniles and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. But recent Supreme Court decisions have found these sentences unconstitutional and set in motion a process for re-evaluating these “juvenile lifers.”