Episode #252: Gary Tyler

In Episode #252, Osi sits down with Gary Tyler, who shares his remarkable story of survival and hope after spending 41 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. They revisit the day everything changed, the shooting that led to Gary’s wrongful conviction, and the unbearable weight he carried as a 17-year-old sentenced to death. Gary also reflects on how he found purpose, forgiveness, and freedom after losing so much of his life.Link to Stitching Freedom - simonandschuster.com/books/Stitching-Freedom/Gary-Tyler/9781668097328Gary Tyler, born on July 19, 1958, in St. Rose, Louisiana, is an African American man who spent much of his life imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. At just 17 years old, he was convicted of the 1974 shooting death of a 13-year-old white boy during a day of racial unrest outside Destrehan High School in St. Charles Parish. Tried as an adult before an all-white jury, Gary was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, as required by state law at the time. When he arrived at the Louisiana State Prison in Angola, he became the youngest person on death row.