GATEWAY

HABITUAL is a podcast from Colorado Radio for Justice - told by someone who survived it. Herbert Alexander served 14 years in Colorado prisons, labeled a "habitual offender" under the state's three-strikes law, which can increase sentences exponentially even for nonviolent crimes. Against all odds, Herbert got himself free. Now, he's telling his story, and he's investigating habitual statutes across the United States that fuel mass incarceration and alter the lives of thousands of people.

HABITUAL traces the history, power, and consequences of habitual statutes through Herbert’s deeply personal story. Alongside co-hosts Seth Ready and Ryan Conarro, Herbert interviews his mother, his wife, and his son. He returns to the scene of his final crime. And he sits down with lawmakers, historians, victims and their advocates, and families who live with the lasting impacts of the law. Along the way, he stumbles upon the shocking, dark origin story of the law across 49 states. It all adds up to a deep interrogation of how habitual laws expand prosecutorial power, pressure plea bargains, and transform prison terms into life-defining punishments, without consideration of rehabilitation, accountability, or repair.

HABITUAL is the story of one man’s past, present, and future. And it’s a sweeping tale of power, punishment, and people across the country fighting for the possibility of change against all odds.