At twenty years old, David Nyberg was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a murder. Forty-four years later, he walked out a different man.

In this powerful episode of Prison Unlocked, Dr. Karen Gedney sits down with someone she first met while serving as a physician inside Nevada's prison system. Together, they revisit David's extraordinary journey, from a childhood marked by sexual abuse and fear, to addiction, incarceration, and ultimately a life dedicated to serving others.

David shares what it was like to survive some of America's most violent prisons, including decades in the Florida, Idaho, and Nevada correctional systems. He reflects on finding mentors among long-term inmates, becoming one of the nation's most accomplished jailhouse lawyers, and using the law to advocate for the rights of incarcerated people while serving a life sentence.

But this conversation is about far more than prison.

It is about accountability without excuses. It is about what happens when someone accepts responsibility for their actions and chooses to spend the rest of their life making amends. David speaks candidly about the childhood trauma that shaped him, the mistakes that changed countless lives, and the moment he realized he wanted to become the man who stood up for what was right instead of remaining silent.

After his release in 2019, David didn't simply rebuild his own life—he committed himself to helping others rebuild theirs. Today, he serves as a pastor, mentor, and advocate, working alongside individuals returning from prison and those who are often overlooked by society. His work focuses on helping people find housing, purpose, accountability, and the support they need to build healthy, productive lives.

Dr. Gedney and David also explore the realities of prison life, surviving decades behind bars, the challenges of reentry, and why successful rehabilitation benefits every community.

One of David's most powerful observations comes near the end of the conversation:

There will always be people who return to prison. There will always be people who succeed no matter what. But there is a large group in the middle whose future depends on whether someone is willing to help them find connection, purpose, and hope.

This episode doesn't ask listeners to excuse crime. It asks us to better understand the human stories behind incarceration—and what it truly takes to prevent future victims.

In this episode:

• Childhood trauma and its lifelong impact
• Addiction and the road to incarceration
• Surviving 44 years in prison
• Becoming a nationally respected jailhouse lawyer
• Life inside Florida, Idaho, and Nevada prisons
• Reentry after long-term incarceration
• Faith, accountability, and redemption
• Why connection is essential to lasting recovery

Whether you work in corrections, healthcare, behavioral health, law enforcement, reentry services, or simply want a deeper understanding of life behind prison walls, David's story is one you won't soon forget.

Prison Unlocked shares raw conversations from both sides of the wall, revealing the people, challenges, and human stories that exist behind incarceration...stories that have the power to change how we see the justice system, those who work within it, and those seeking a second chance.

🌐 Visit PrisonUnlocked.com for additional episodes, resources, and updates.

📘 Dr. Karen Gedney's memoir, 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor, is available on Amazon.

🎙️ Follow, rate, and review Prison Unlocked to help more people discover the stories behind prison walls.

For more than twenty years, Rita Sloan has walked through prison gates—not as a correctional officer, counselor, or clinician—but as a volunteer committed to one simple belief: every person has the capacity to change.

In this episode of Prison Unlocked, Dr. Karen Gedney sits down with Rita to explore the Alternative Violence Project (AVP), an internationally recognized program that has spent fifty years helping incarcerated individuals develop healthier ways to respond to conflict, build trust, and discover their own humanity.

Originally created inside New York's Green Haven Prison through a partnership between incarcerated men and Quaker volunteers, AVP has spread throughout the world by focusing on experiential learning rather than lectures. Participants learn through conversation, shared experiences, problem-solving exercises, and honest self-reflection.

Rita shares how a desire to better understand nonviolence led her into Nevada State Prison in 2003 - and why one workshop changed the course of her life.

Together, Karen and Rita discuss:

• How violence often begins long before physical conflict
• Why empathy and human connection reduce prison violence
• The remarkable transformation that occurs during AVP workshops
• How incarcerated participants become facilitators and mentors
• Why community volunteers often leave with their own perspectives transformed
• The importance of rehabilitation alongside accountability
• What society misunderstands about the people living behind prison walls

Drawing on her thirty years as a prison physician, Dr. Gedney reflects on watching prison culture evolve and explains why programs like AVP, Puppies on Parole, education, and volunteer involvement create safer prisons—for both incarcerated individuals and correctional staff.

One of the episode's most powerful themes is that violence isn't simply an act. It can also be found in exclusion, gossip, judgment, and the ways people treat one another every day. Conversely, genuine affirmation, respect, and connection can become powerful tools for lasting change.

Whether you work in corrections, healthcare, behavioral health, education, or simply want to better understand how rehabilitation happens, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at one of the most successful volunteer programs operating inside prisons today.

In this episode:

• The history of the Alternative Violence Project (AVP)
• Why AVP has lasted for over 50 years
• Reducing violence through experiential learning
• Prison culture and rehabilitation
• Building empathy across prison walls
• Community volunteers inside correctional facilities
• Accountability, forgiveness, and personal growth
• Why recognizing our shared humanity matters

Prison Unlocked shares raw conversations from both sides of the wall, revealing the people, challenges, and human stories behind incarceration...and the individuals working every day to make lasting change possible.

🌐 Visit PrisonUnlocked.com for additional episodes, resources, and updates.

📘 Dr. Karen Gedney's memoir, 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor, is available on Amazon.

🎙️ Follow, rate, and review Prison Unlocked to help more people discover the stories behind prison walls.

What is it really like to witness an execution?

Most people will never know what happens behind prison walls when an execution is scheduled. Beyond the courtroom, political debates, and media headlines are the correctional officers, physicians, wardens, and prison staff who must carry out one of the most difficult responsibilities within the criminal justice system.

In this compelling episode of Prison Unlocked, Dr. Karen Gedney is joined by retired Nevada correctional officer Caterino Escobar to share firsthand experiences from inside Nevada's death row. Together, they explore the emotional, ethical, and psychological realities of capital punishment—not through politics or opinion, but through decades of lived experience.

Dr. Gedney spent 30 years providing medical care inside the Nevada prison system. Early in her career, she was ordered to write the prescriptions for a lethal injection execution. Believing that a physician's responsibility is to heal rather than participate in taking a life, she refused.

Officer Escobar served 26 years as a correctional officer and volunteered to participate in execution rehearsals. During one practice inside Nevada's execution chamber, what began as a routine training exercise became deeply personal as he unexpectedly experienced what it might feel like to be the condemned inmate. Decades later, he still remembers every moment.

Together, they discuss:

• What actually happens inside a prison before an execution

• The emotional toll executions take on correctional officers, physicians, wardens, and prison staff

• Why medical ethics and capital punishment often collide

• PTSD and the hidden psychological impact of working in corrections

• Wrongful convictions and the irreversible consequences of the death penalty

• Why treating incarcerated people with dignity can change lives on both sides of the prison walls

Dr. Gedney also shares several unforgettable stories from her years inside prison medicine, including caring for inmates on death row, treating a terminally ill prisoner whose execution date was approaching, and receiving a 17-page letter written by an inmate just days before his execution—a letter devoted not to his own fate, but to warning children not to make the choices that led him to prison.

The conversation also examines the difficult relationship between custody staff and medical professionals. While correctional officers are responsible for maintaining safety and security, medical providers are responsible for caring for the physical and mental health of incarcerated patients. Those two missions can sometimes collide, creating ethical challenges few people outside prison walls ever consider.

Yet despite the difficult subject matter, this episode ultimately becomes a story about humanity.

Officer Escobar reflects on the correctional officers who mentored and protected him during his career, as well as the incarcerated men who surrounded him in prayer when they learned he suffered from debilitating migraine headaches. Years after retiring, former inmates still approach him to thank him for one simple act that left a lasting impression: treating them like human beings.

This is not a debate about whether the death penalty should exist.

It is an honest conversation about what carrying out the death penalty asks of the people responsible for it—and how those experiences can stay with them long after the prison gates close behind them.

Whether you support capital punishment, oppose it, or have never considered what happens behind the scenes, this episode offers a rare and thoughtful perspective from two professionals whose careers were shaped by one of the least understood aspects of the American prison system.

If you enjoy Prison Unlocked, please follow the podcast, leave a rating and review, and share this episode with someone who wants a deeper understanding of incarceration, corrections, and the human stories behind prison walls.

To learn more, explore additional episodes, access resources, or purchase 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor, visit PrisonUnlocked.com.

Because behind every prison sentence is a human story.

🌐 Visit PrisonUnlocked.com for additional episodes, resources, and updates.

📘 Dr. Karen Gedney's memoir, 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor, is available on Amazon.

🎙️ Follow, rate, and review Prison Unlocked to help more people discover the stories behind prison walls.

In the inaugural episode of Prison Unlocked, Dr. Karen Gedney shares the extraordinary story that began her unexpected journey into one of America's most hidden worlds. Assigned to a Nevada prison through the National Health Service Corps, she arrived with no experience, no preparation, and no idea what awaited her.

Just eighteen months into her assignment, a violent hostage crisis changed everything.

Yet what happened afterward - not the attack itself - ultimately shaped the next three decades of her life.

Dr. Gedney recounts her early days inside prison, the culture she encountered, the inmates who helped her heal, and the lessons she learned while standing between two very different worlds: the incarcerated and the people responsible for custody and security.

This episode sets the stage for a podcast dedicated to revealing the realities, complexities, and human stories that exist behind prison walls.

Because understanding prisons requires more than headlines - it requires hearing the stories from the people who lived them.

🌐 Visit PrisonUnlocked.com for additional episodes, resources, and updates.

📘 Dr. Karen Gedney's memoir, 30 Years Behind Bars: Trials of a Prison Doctor, is available on Amazon.

🎙️ Follow, rate, and review Prison Unlocked to help more people discover the stories behind prison walls.