From the day the FBI arrested him in 2003 and told him the government was seeking the death penalty, Benjamin Frandsen labored fiercely for his release. His case was overturned twice on appeal (his third trial will likely be overturned again this year), and he was found suitable for parole three times in a row.  Five separate times he beat LIFE in California.  After 18 years fighting a sentence that began as Life Without the Possibility of Parole, the Parole Board finally released him on December 10, 2021



 Caits Meissner—poet, author, and New York Director of PEN America’s Prison Writing Program discusses her work that has stretched behind the walls and has brought Ben’s writing to the page and to the stage.

    Patrick O’Neil—acclaimed writer and author of Gun, Needle, Spoon, Patrick discusses his evolution from prison inmate to LA PEN writing mentor.