Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison

Sheena King, 52, was terrified of dying alone and afraid inside the prison infirmary at State Correctional Muncy. She became a prison hospice volunteer, comforting and helping women in their final stage of life, in hope the same would eventually be done for her. During her 33 years at Muncy, Sheena has dedicated her life to being the support she wishes she’d had before she committed murder at 18 years old. Sheena discusses healing from a lifetime of trauma while serving a life without parole sentence, working in prison hospice, and her new book “Submerged,” a memoir to help others on their own healing journeys inspired by her experiences. At an event for her book launch, recordings of Sheena reading from her book played, and her daughter Keeva King spoke alongside attorney Rupalee Rashatwar about her mother’s condition in prison.Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison is a production of Create. Genius. Media and Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting. Presented by WHYYFollow us on social media for info about events, issues around mass incarceration and history @dyingontheinsidepodcast Check out our stories on WHYY. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cherri Gregg talks to lifers at State Correctional Institution Muncy about the challenges of staying healthy in prison. People like Terri Harper, who has served 35 years, feel like their concerns aren’t taken seriously by the medical system. Terri has had seven surgeries in the last 15 years and has had to wait for long stretches to get the care she’s needed. Nutrition is also a challenge in prison. There’s a black market for vegetables, and many inmates have to buy from the commissary to get enough to eat. These conditions and lack of preventative care results in many inmates being diagnosed with diseases like cancer at late stages and requiring advanced care. About a quarter of deaths at Muncy between 2000 and 2025 were due to cancer, slightly higher than the national average. All of this is resulting in more costs being borne by taxpayers. Even though Pennsylvania's prison population has gone down since 2002, the state’s annual healthcare costs have more than doubled, now exceeding $366 million a year.Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison is a production of Create. Genius. Media and Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting. Presented by WHYYFollow us on social media for info about events, issues around mass incarceration and history @dyingontheinsidepodcast Check out our stories on WHYY. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cherri Gregg and the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting visit State Correctional Institution Muncy, Pennsylvania’s largest women’s prison and home to roughly 150 lifers. As they tour the prison, they witness the challenges of aging while incarcerated. We meet Sylvia Boykin, 68, who has been at SCI Muncy for 33 years. Her body is ravaged by multiple serious illnesses. Advocates call her sentence “death by incarceration” and say our nation’s prisons are turning into nursing homes because of the “tough on crime” policies of the ’80s and ’90s. Prisons across the U.S. are grappling with rising healthcare costs that are passed on to taxpayers, as well as ethical questions about how to care for aging inmates.Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison is a production of Create. Genius. Media and Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting. Presented by WHYYFollow us on social media for info about events, issues around mass incarceration and history @dyingontheinsidepodcast Check out our stories on WHYY. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In State Correctional Institution Muncy in Pennsylvania, roughly 150 women lifers — many of them incarcerated during the height of mass incarceration in the 1980s and 1990s — are now aging behind bars. Nationally, the average age of incarcerated women has risen to 41 and visits to the infirmary have skyrocketed in the past five years, increasing 573%. Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, and degenerative back issues often begin as early as age 35. By their mid-50s, many incarcerated women are already facing conditions associated with advanced aging. Prisons like SCI Muncy do not have the capacity to handle the complex needs of seniors. Poor diet, lack of exercise and inadequate healthcare have led to a public health crisis that receives scant attention.Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison is a production of Create. Genius. Media and Temple University's Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting. Presented by WHYYFollow us on social media for info about events, issues around mass incarceration and history @dyingontheinsidepodcast Check out our stories on WHYY. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.