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 News 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.