KPBS Midday Edition

Innocence Project Discusses Recent Wins, COVID-19 Concerns Inside California Prisons

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Marissa Cabrera / News Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published April 8, 2020 at 10:59 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Justin Brooks, project director of the California Innocence Project, in Berkeley ahead of a 100-mile march to Sacramento on September 30, 2018.

Governor Newsom granted clemency to more than two dozen prisoners last week, including four clients of the San Diego-based California Innocence Project.

California Governor Gavin Newsom granted clemency last week to more than two dozen prisoners.

While the cases had been under review before the new coronavirus pandemic, the governor indicated he took public health and each inmate's health status into account. Four of the inmates were among the so-called "California 12" — a dozen individuals whose cases were championed by the San Diego-based California Innocence Project.

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Justin Brooks, director of the Innocence Project joined Midday Edition on Wednesday to discuss their recent wins, along with how the COVID-19 outbreak is playing out inside state prisons.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Marissa Cabrera

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Marissa Cabrera worked as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and had previously served as a Newscast Producer for KPBS' Morning Edition. Before joining KPBS she reported on Vatican affairs, social, and cultural issues in Rome, Italy. She also contributed to a documentary on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Marissa has worked as a multimedia journalist at various news stations in San Diego and Monterey as well as Columbia, Missouri. Marissa graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

See stories by Marissa Cabrera