Today, Wondery announced Death County, PA, a gripping new investigative documentary that delves into the shocking and mysterious deaths of dozens of inmates in the Dauphin County Prison in Pennsylvania, uncovering a web of corruption, abuse, and systemic failures. Hosted by PennLive investigative reporter Joshua Vaughn, the propulsive podcast series follows Lamont Jones, an ex-Dauphin County Prison inmate turned concerned citizen and elected official, as he embarks on a relentless quest for the truth after his young cousin dies under suspicious circumstances in the same prison. Death County, PA debuts on April 14 Wondery+, and on April 28 wherever you get your podcasts.
Jones walks out of Dauphin County Prison a free man, ready to rebuild his life. But when his young cousin, who entered the prison as a healthy 22-year-old, dies in the same facility just two weeks after getting there, Jones discovers that his cousin’s death is not an isolated incident. In fact, dozens of men have died under mysterious circumstances in Dauphin County Prison, and the truth has been covered up for years.
As Vaughn and Jones dig deeper into the sprawling web of secrecy and corruption, they find themselves at odds with the authorities in the prison and local government who work in lockstep to conceal suspicious prisoner deaths. This includes the county coroner Graham Hetrick, a larger-than-life figure who found fame with a reality TV show and boasts the questionable tagline, “I speak for the dead.” Jones’ emotional journey from a prisoner to crusader stands in stark opposition to Hetrick’s self-aggrandizing approach to his role, and provides an electric conflict within the series.
The podcast sheds light on the systemic issues plaguing the Dauphin County Prison and prisons across America, from medical neglect and abuse to outright corruption. It also showcases through Jones and his allies the power of community action in challenging and potentially reforming deeply entrenched institutional failures.
Death County, PA is the latest in a string of high-impact investigative series from Wondery, including Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University, Scam Factory, Kill List, and more. The series has been created in collaboration with Advance Local, one of the largest media groups in the United States operating the leading news and information companies in more than 20 cities across the country.
Vaughn is an award-winning investigative reporter with PennLive and adjunct lecturer at Penn State University’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. He has spent years covering criminal justice issues, with a particular focus on the Dauphin County Prison. His groundbreaking work includes developing the first-ever database of jail deaths in Pennsylvania, funded by the Pulitzer Center in 2023.
Death County, PA is a Wondery production.
