After spending most of his life in prison, Billy Baggett was released into a world he no longer understood, contending with a lifetime of trauma and coming to terms with his imminent death
He was dying, but he was free. [READ]
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In this Street Roots special report, we share the story of William “Billy” Baggett Jr., who spent nearly 50 years of his life behind bars.
Our reporter shadowed Baggett for nine months, beginning in May 2019 when he was released from prison and ending with his death earlier this year.
During the course of many interviews between the reporter and Baggett, from interviews with those who knew him and from hundreds of pages of records associated with his incarceration, psychological evaluations and arrests, a brutal and tragic story of a man’s squandered life unfolded.
Upon Baggett’s most recent release from prison, he relished his final taste of freedom, but he struggled to fit into a world he no longer understood as he came to terms with his own imminent death.
This story is not intended to dismiss the serious nature of his crimes but instead seeks to bring forward one man’s life spent inside the American penal system, the trauma he endured, and his adjustment to society afterward.
Our story begins seven years ago, when Baggett was out on parole, briefly, after serving a 38-year sentence.
Please note: This article contains graphic descriptions of physical and sexual abuse.
“All my life, I seen the world through a window called television, and that’s the only thing I know.” [READ]
“After two or three months went by, I started thinking, it ain’t death I want; I want to live.” [READ]
“He was like a king in his kingdom.” [READ]
“As the reporter who shadowed him closely from his release to his death, I was eventually confronted with a choice. I would have to choose between my own journalistic integrity and being there for a fellow human being when he needed it most.” [READ]
Street Roots Managing Editor Emily Green joins host DeVon Pouncey to discuss her reporting on this project, which took her more than a year. This episode features audio clips of Billy Baggett. [LISTEN]
More audio of Billy
Billy Baggett tells a story about racing mice, one of his hobbies in prison.
