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Reporter honored for stories on solitary confinement

BALTIMORE (AP) — Morgan State University has honored a Philadelphia journalist for his reporting on a black inmate who spent 37 years in solitary confinement.

The historically black school in Baltimore said Thursday in a statement that reporter Mensah M. Dean humanized convicted killer Arthur Johnson while exposing injustices in the prison system.

Dean is a reporter for the Philadelphia Media Network. His stories appear in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ and on Philly.com.

Dean was awarded the Vernon Jarrett Medal for Journalistic Excellence on Thursday. He also received a check for $10,000.

Dean is a native of Washington, D.C. He graduated from Bowie State University, a historically black school in Maryland.

Jarrett was a black journalist and broadcaster who became a prominent commentator on race relations. He died in 2004.

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