In The NoCo

Colorado’s first incarcerated professor is now a free man. He still plans to teach students in prison

By In The NoCo,

Published May 2, 2024 at 4:55 PM MDT

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David Carrillo, a former inmate at Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility and an adjunct professor with Adams State University, makes notes at the beginning of teaching his Intro to Macro Economics class on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023 at Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City, Colorado. Carillo was released, and says he plans to continue teaching incarcerated students.

In January we learned about a man whose life took a huge turn. David Carillo had been serving a life sentence for his involvement in a murder that happened in 1993. While incarcerated, he began taking classes, and earned a degree. He continued studying, until he became one of the first professors in the country to teach from behind prison walls.

And now, after Gov. Jared Polis granted him clemency last December, Carillo's life has seen another seismic shift. Carillo was released from the prison in Canon City – and he plans to continue teaching incarcerated students, while living as a free man.

Jason Gonzales, who covers higher education for Chalkbeat Colorado, has been following Carillo's journey. He joined In The NoCo's Erin O'Toole to share the latest.

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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