In 'Bringing Ben Home,' Barbara Bradley Hagerty examines a wrongful conviction

In 1987, a Black 22-year-old named Ben Spencer was convicted of murdering a white man in Texas. In 2021, he was cleared of those charges and released from prison. A new book by former NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Bringing Ben Home, dives into what went wrong within the Texas legal system for Spencer to serve so much time in prison for a crime he has always said he did not commit. In today's episode, Bradley Hagerty speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang about her own investigation into the case and the kind of criminal justice reform she says is necessary to prevent this from happening again.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy