I was 15 years old and I was at a camp and part of what we were doing that day was listening to people from the Fortune Society.

This is a group of formerly incarcerated people, and they were coming to tell us about their life, their story.

So from that point forward, I start to do work in justice.

I guess you would call it, because I was really concerned about, you know, injustice.

So many of you might know Mike Farrell from the hit TV show MASH.

Mike and I worked together on several television shows, but I reconnected with him recently at a benefit for Death Penalty Focus.

He said, “It brutalizes us all.

” Mike advocates for criminal justice reform and is the president of the board.

So I went to visit him to learn more about his work.

Hey, Bonnie.

Good to see you.

So tell me first about how did you become interested in the death penalty?

It's a state committed homicide and everybody, every other citizen of that state are responsible.

And what I saw in prisons was the dehumanization that these people suffered.

Most of the people on death row are people of color.

We don't have a mechanism for people to take responsibility.

Well, what people don't understand is there's a legal maxim that says silence gives consent.

So if you don't speak up your opposition, then you are consenting to this happening.

It's a hideously expensive process and it traps the innocent.

It is racist in application.

Everyone has human dignity, even if they behave in a manner that suggests they've lost it.

That doesn't mean it can't be brought back.

And now here's the thing.

What if a state acting on our behalf gets it wrong?

Next on our series, you'll meet a man who spent over 32 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.

For KCET, I'm Bonnie Boswell.