Born in London, Alex Hannaford has worked as a journalist since 1997. Since moving to the US in 2003, he has written about the death penalty, criminal justice, refugees, religion, culture and human rights issues. He cowrote and hosted Dead Man Talking, a crime podcast which won silver at the 2019 British Podcast Awards. He is also the writer and director of The Last 40 Miles, an award-winning animated short film about the death penalty.