Sentenced to death at 17, at 68, quilt artist receives solo museum exhibition

Gary Tyler speaks about his work at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan. Behind Tyler are his quilts Big Toe , (2024) and Enduring , (2025). They feature two individuals who are incarcerated. He hopes his work draws attention to their plight and humanity. Sea Stachura for NPR hide caption

Imagine living all of your adult life behind bars for a murder you didn't commit and being released at 58. You're also a fabric artist, and the Smithsonian has acquired one of your quilts. That's the story of Gary Tyler, and now, the artist has his first solo exhibit.

At the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan, Gary Tyler points to a black-and-white quilt that's based on a photo.

"That's a picture that was taken by my brother back in [19]74," he says.

He was a 16-year-old with a flair for fashion, living in Louisiana. One school morning, he dressed in a body shirt with a sweater overtop. Then he added fingerless gloves and a bandana.

"This body shirt was the shirt and bandana that I had the day of the incident," he said.

By dinnertime, Tyler was arrested. A white 13-year-old had been shot and killed during anti-school-integration violence. Tyler was put in a police car for "mouthing off." The next thing he knew, local police arrested and charged him with murder. He couldn't believe the charges would stick. He was still wearing the same clothes a month later, when his brother snapped the photo.

"You're looking at the innocence of a young, of a teenager, adolescent, you know, and who's who's at loss and and not knowing … what's definitely ahead of him," he says of the image.

Tyler's quilt titled, Captivity , 1974 (2023) is based on a photo his brother took of him at the St. Charles Parish jail, one month after he was arrested and charged with the murder of a white 13-year-old. He was still wearing the clothing he was arrested in. Sea Stachura for NPR hide caption

A divorce lawyer incompetently represented him. Four friends testified against him, then recanted their testimony. The judge instructed an all-white jury to assume the 16-year-old meant to kill multiple people. It then convicted and sentenced him to death. Tyler maintained his innocence.

At the time, he was the youngest person on death row. He was sent to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola, and placed in a form of solitary confinement. His story isn't unique, says Wanda Bertram with the Prison Policy Initiative.

"There are a ton of people in prison who have shocking stories to tell about the defense they received, especially if they were indigent, the coercion they experienced from police and prosecutors," Bertram says.

Louisiana has the highest rate of incarceration in the U.S. Globally, it's second only to El Salvador. It also has one of the lowest parole rates.

The Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole recommended Tyler be pardoned three times. Each time, the state's governor refused.