He Became a Mathematician in Prison. Now, He’s Stuck There.

Science Christopher Havens was approved for release by the Washington State Clemency Board. All he needed was the governor’s signature. May 02, 202610:00 AM Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Kwangmoozaa/Getty Images Plus and Pressmaster/Getty Images Plus. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Christopher Havens has a part-time position as research staff at the University of California at Los Angeles. And he’s had a prolific few years. In June 2020, Havens published an article in the journal Research in Number Theory with co-authors from the University of Torino in Italy. Soon after, he published another article on the proceedings of a math conference held in Bratislava, Slovakia, with a co-author from Rome. Another five publications followed, including a 2025 textbook on continued fractions published by Springer. Havens has never visited Italy or Slovakia. He hasn’t, despite his UCLA appointment, been in L.A. for a long time. He’s not allowed: He lives in Shelton, Washington, at the Washington Corrections Center. He’s been in prison for 16 years, since he was convicted of the murder of Randen Robinson. Haven shot Robinson in the woods while Robinson was