If you haven’t caught this week’s cover story yet, I urge you to check out “Second Life.” It’s a story about George Martorano, who is serving life in prison with no parole, and the efforts of a local St. Petersburg man to free him and thousands of other first-time, non-violent offenders.

Afterwards, check out this YouTube video featuring Martorano’s friends and family talking about how his 23-year imprisonment has affected them.

There’s also some breaking news in the case: Martorano, through his prison blog, says the brief (mentioned in the story) has been assigned to a judge. This doesn’t necessarily mean it will be heard, but it does take Martorano’s case one step further through the court system. Besides the clemency request on President Bush’s desk, it could be Martorano’s only shot at leaving prison alive.

This article appears in Jul 11-17, 2007.