After serving 34 years for a crime he did not commit, Jarvis Jay Masters vows to continue his pursuit of justice and exoneration after a U.S District Court denied his federal habeas petition on September 3, 2024.
"That Bird Has My Wings"by Jarvis Jay Masters has been translated into Korean by Hye Rim Kwon as 붓다가 된 어느 흑인 사형수 : 가장 악명 높은 감옥의 한 무고한 사형수가 전하는 마지막 인생 수업 and was just released by Bulgwang Publishing, the leading publisher of Buddhist titles in South Korea, and is available here.
Jarvis and Truthworker Theatre Founding Director Samara Gaev contributed a creative piece from their ongoing dialogue to a new anthology, FUTURE/PRESENT: Arts in a Changing America, out now from Duke University Press.
Jarvis was recently interviewed for The Emerald podcast, in a mega-episode devoted to the topic of justice. In his segment with host Josh Schrei at 1 hour 27 minutes in, Jarvis articulates the elements of his endurance over three decades of wrongful imprisonment.
Jazz educator Daniel Blake won two New York arts and humanities grants to present several “Got My Wings” educational workshops to high school students throughout Fall 2023. Produced in collaboration with Jarvis, the “Got My Wings” project explores various themes in Jarvis’ books, and allows students to examine incarceration and social justice through the arts.
Jarvis was also interviewed by host Keith Dent in a special 4-part series for the “Black Men Speak” podcast, with episodes to be released October 10-31 and available here.
"That Bird Has My Wings” has now been rendered into Spanish under the title “Este Pájaro Tiene Mis Alas” and is available online here from publishing house Editorial Dilema.
Jarvis’ “Encontrando a Liberdade”(“Finding Freedom”) has been officially adopted into Brazil’s national secondary school curriculum after being a finalist for Brazil’s federal PNLD grant (2021) , which funds one of the world’s largest state textbook adoption programs.
Jarvis’ legal case and thoughts on the Condemned Inmate Transfer Program (CITP) were highlighted in a feature article in the Guardian today.
Jarvis was recently featured on the Ten Percent Happier podcast with Dan Harris. The “How to Meditate in Hell” episode, released on April 3, is available here.
Jarvis was recently featured on a podcast documenting the world’s most interesting sounds.
The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) will be proposing regulations for the Condemned Inmate Transfer Program, following an open public comment period that culminates in a public hearing in Sacramento on March 8, 2023. Individuals on San Quentin’s Death Row will be mandated to permanently move to other state prisons. This program will adversely affect many incarcerated people, their family, friends, and advocates, as well as local legal teams.
Jarvis Jay Masters, who has been incarcerated at San Quentin for 41 years—and on Death Row for 32 years for a crime he did not commit—requests that his support community submit public comments to CDCR.
“The Buddhist on Death Row” by David Sheff has been translated into Italian by Emanuela Alverà and is available now from publishing house Ubiliber.
Jarvis’ story and legal case has inspired the Creative Alliance Project to present “Got My Wings,” an upcoming community dance performance February 3-5, 2023 in Katonah, New York. Following each show, a panel of formerly incarcerated men and women will share their experiences and reflect on living and coping while in prison. Tickets are now available here.
Jarvis’ “That Bird Has My Wings” joins several notable titles on the Innocence Project’s 2022 recommended reading list and Jarvis is celebrated by his friend, writer Rebecca Solnit, in her latest column in the Guardian.
Jarvis recently spoke to a Sociology & Criminal Justice class studying wrongful convictions at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York.
Sacramento's KCRA 3 News with Edie Lambert covered Jarvis' legal case last week and featured Jeremiah Burchfield publicly announcing his support for Jarvis' exoneration campaign. USA Today also recently published an op-ed by David Sheff.
LEGAL UPDATE: Jarvis’ legal team at Kirkland & Ellis filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
As part of Oprah’s Book Club Chat, Jarvis Jay Masters discussed writing and the simple pleasures we take for granted outside prison walls.
Jarvis was recently interviewed by Fritzi Horstman, founder of the Compassion Prison Project for their Compassion in Action podcast. The organization’s mission is to create trauma-informed communities through education and programming. Part 1 of their interview has been posted here with Part 2 anticipated in early October.
On CBS Mornings earlier today, it was announced that Jarvis Jay Masters’ “That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row” has been selected for Oprah’s Book Club. Originally published by HarperOne in 2009, it’s available now wherever books are sold.
German supporters have successfully crowdfunded to print the German edition of Jarvis’ “Finding Freedom.” Published by Edition Steinrich under the title “Die Geburt Der Freiheit,” the book hits shelves this week and is available online here.
“The Buddhist on Death Row” by David Sheff has been translated into Portuguese by Heci Regina Candiani and was recently released by publishing house Sextante.
Juneteenth—now a federal holiday—is both a celebration and a sobering reminder that the ongoing African American struggle for freedom and justice continues. To mark this occasion, we share a recent excerpted journal entry from Jarvis about perseverance amidst adversity.
Jarvis’ story was featured in the New York Times in a guest essay by Rebecca Solnit. First posted online on April 22, the opinion piece also appears in the April 24 Sunday print edition as “Don’t Stop Believing That People Can Change,” and explores the inherent human capacity for transformation and the steep social costs we incur when that fact is dismissed.
Jarvis is featured in the major upcoming book, “Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise” (HarperCollins/Penguin) by Justin Zorn & Leigh Marz, which will be published in 12 languages globally. Jarvis’ story is prominently covered in Chapter 9: Quiet Inside and well as throughout the book. It will be hitting the shelves on May 5 in the UK and May 17 in the US and is now available on pre-order here.
Jarvis’ German supporters have launched a grassroots crowdfunding campaign to print “Finding Freedom” in Germany. Supporters are invited to donate here.
Jarvis’ case has been featured in an editorial in The Nation, titled “Free Jarvis Jay Masters!” Writer Rebecca Solnit also mentioned Jarvis in her recent Lithub article, “Hope on Far Horizons,” and a Jan. 22 New York jazz event inspired by Jarvis will now be held virtually due to Covid.
The California State Legislature tasked the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code (CRPC) to recommend legal changes that would “simplify and rationalize” California’s Penal Code. In its recently released Death Penalty Report, the Committee unanimously recommended abolition of the state’s death penalty. Jarvis’ case is cited twice.