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<v Speaker 1>I've been in prison for forty eight years, charged with

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<v Speaker 1>the kidnapping and murder of the woman I loved. The

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<v Speaker 1>hardest part hasn't been sitting behind bars all this time.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been the constant, gut wrenching memory of seeing the

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<v Speaker 1>look on my beloved girlfriend's face. She was stolen from

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<v Speaker 1>my arms, taken away by the beast of the woods,

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<v Speaker 1>and disappeared forever. My name is Robin. My sister's name

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<v Speaker 1>is Sparrow. Our mother and father were hippies. I was

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<v Speaker 1>born in the late nineteen fifties. My father was an

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<v Speaker 1>art professor and my mother a graduate student, and we

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<v Speaker 1>moved our family to a farm owned by one of

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<v Speaker 1>their friends, who had inherited a property of over five

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<v Speaker 1>hundred acres. Twenty other families lived on the property, with

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<v Speaker 1>us housed in campers and tents and buses, and the

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<v Speaker 1>farms out buildings. We survived on what was grown on

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<v Speaker 1>the land, little elks. We didn't eat meat or use

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<v Speaker 1>materials from animals, such as leather or hides. We produced

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<v Speaker 1>a variety of items from hemp, which we cultivated on

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<v Speaker 1>the farm, along with several other plants not native to

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<v Speaker 1>the state. I can remember the police visiting us several

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<v Speaker 1>times a week for many years. They would be looking

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<v Speaker 1>for a runaway or had heard complaints that we were

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<v Speaker 1>smoking pot. They found just about any reason they could

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<v Speaker 1>to walk around the property and look in the buildings

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<v Speaker 1>and campers. They never found anything, and life went on

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<v Speaker 1>as usual once they left. One September morning, when I

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<v Speaker 1>was eleven years old, the police arrived with a bus

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<v Speaker 1>and took all the children to school. That was difficult

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<v Speaker 1>for as you can imagine being a hippie going to

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<v Speaker 1>class with a bunch of red blood and Americans who

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<v Speaker 1>all seemed to have loved all the fighting in Vietnam.

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<v Speaker 1>They would make fun of our clothes and our hair,

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<v Speaker 1>and even what we ate for lunch, which consisted of

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<v Speaker 1>only fruit and vegetables. I had long hair that came

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<v Speaker 1>down to the middle of my back. One time, the

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<v Speaker 1>older boys in high school held me down and cut

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<v Speaker 1>it off with their pocket knives. I had a thousand

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<v Speaker 1>reasons not to go back, but one good reason to stay.

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<v Speaker 1>Her name was Sky. I couldn't think of a better

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<v Speaker 1>pair than a bird and the sky. She was the

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<v Speaker 1>only thing keeping me at school that year. Sky's father

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<v Speaker 1>was a car dealer, and a city councilman, and he

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<v Speaker 1>hated me with a passion, but that didn't stop us

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<v Speaker 1>from seeing each other. We wound up spending time together

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<v Speaker 1>at school, and we'd hang out afterwards and even sneak

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<v Speaker 1>out of the house night. We would go to the

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<v Speaker 1>park and line the grass among the flowers, and we

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<v Speaker 1>watched the heavens pass through the night, and I'd sneak

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<v Speaker 1>her back into her house before her parents woke up.

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<v Speaker 1>The summer after we graduated, and we knew our time

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<v Speaker 1>together was limited, I had to register for the draft,

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<v Speaker 1>and Sky's parents had enrolled her in a university on

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<v Speaker 1>the East coast, mainly to get her away from me

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<v Speaker 1>and all the other bad influences in California. So before

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<v Speaker 1>we went our separate ways, Sky and I took off

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<v Speaker 1>for a few days north into the mountains to go camping.

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<v Speaker 1>Sky had a Volkswagen Thing, which was a hell of

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<v Speaker 1>an ugly car, but we could go almost anywhere in it.

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<v Speaker 1>The first night and day passed uneventfully. We made fires

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<v Speaker 1>and stayed up late watching the stars, and we fell

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<v Speaker 1>asleep in the warmth of each other's arms. When the

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<v Speaker 1>morning came, we would rebuild the fire hang around the

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<v Speaker 1>camp and enjoy the peacefulness of the nature around us.

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<v Speaker 1>On the second night, I was awoken by the sound

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<v Speaker 1>of nuts falling on the tent, the cause of an

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<v Speaker 1>unusually loud night bird. I asked Guy about it the

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<v Speaker 1>next morning, but she hadn't heard anything. We sat around

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<v Speaker 1>again that day for a few hours and I did

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<v Speaker 1>some drawings of Sky. I inherited my parents' talent for art,

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<v Speaker 1>and I figured if I had some pictures of her

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<v Speaker 1>to take with me to Vietnam might ease the pain

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<v Speaker 1>while we were apart. A few days later, we left

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<v Speaker 1>our camp to take a stroll through the woods. We

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<v Speaker 1>were only gone for a couple of hours, and when

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<v Speaker 1>we returned we found that our food had been taken.

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<v Speaker 1>I suspected an animal had visited our camp while we

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<v Speaker 1>were away, and was a little on edge that night,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was worried that it might be a bear.

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<v Speaker 1>That night, we were awakened by a pack of coat

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<v Speaker 1>he's up on the top of a ridge. Some owls

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<v Speaker 1>joined in on the noise, and the strange night birds

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<v Speaker 1>were calling again louder than before. The nuts were falling

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<v Speaker 1>all around us, but it seemed to be hitting everything

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<v Speaker 1>except for the tent. So the next day we took

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<v Speaker 1>another walk, and this time to a small mountain lake

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<v Speaker 1>that we had seen on our drive up. As we

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<v Speaker 1>strolled down the dirt road, we could hear something pacing

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<v Speaker 1>us inside the woods. I was afraid it was Sky's father,

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<v Speaker 1>that he had found our hiding spot, brought a friend

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<v Speaker 1>with him, and was going to kill me up there. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we picked up our pace when we saw our camp

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<v Speaker 1>decided that even though it was late, it was time

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<v Speaker 1>to leave. We were almost to the car when I

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<v Speaker 1>heard a growl. It was so intense and forceful that

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<v Speaker 1>I could feel it in my soul. We heard pounding

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<v Speaker 1>and thundering steps and shook the ground and through the

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<v Speaker 1>trees we watched a giant ape like creature run straight

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<v Speaker 1>at us. It's teeth bared and its arms extended. It

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<v Speaker 1>switched from all fours to two feet, and it gathered

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<v Speaker 1>momentum as it plowed toward use. I pushed my arms

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<v Speaker 1>out around Sky in an attempt to protect her and

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<v Speaker 1>brace for the impact. But the beast swept me into

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<v Speaker 1>a tree like it was nothing, and he scooped Sky.

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<v Speaker 1>I knew his massive arms without even slowing down. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I was shaken and my head was pounding, one of

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<v Speaker 1>my ribs seared with pain. I finally got to my

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<v Speaker 1>feet and started to chase after them, and I heard

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<v Speaker 1>Sky screaming as she was carried away. But no matter

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<v Speaker 1>how fast I ran, Sky's screams got further and further

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<v Speaker 1>away from me, traveling at a pace that I couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>keep up with, and within a few minutes she was

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<v Speaker 1>out of earshot, and there was nothing but silence that

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded me. I followed a large game trail for some time,

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<v Speaker 1>but I never heard another hint of life from her.

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<v Speaker 1>I came to a stream at the bottom of a gorge,

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<v Speaker 1>and I knew I was lost. I wandered along the

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<v Speaker 1>flowing water until it was too dark to move, and

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<v Speaker 1>I sat down against the cliff that night, and I

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<v Speaker 1>shook in fear and rocked myself into an agitated, restless sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>Throughout the night, I could hear the noises again. Large

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<v Speaker 1>rocks fell off the cliff above me, then logs and

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<v Speaker 1>even a tree, and I huddled against the rock, tormented

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<v Speaker 1>in shame that I didn't have any fight left in me.

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<v Speaker 1>Once I could see, I was up and running as

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<v Speaker 1>fast as I could down the stream. I stumbled out

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<v Speaker 1>onto a road and I felt unconscious at the edge

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<v Speaker 1>of traffic. I woke to a police officer shaking me away,

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<v Speaker 1>and I began to frantically tell him what happened. It

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<v Speaker 1>took the better part of the afternoon for us to

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<v Speaker 1>find my camp. I was heartbroken to see the state

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<v Speaker 1>of things. Heartbroken there was no sign of Sky. I

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<v Speaker 1>spent the night in a jail cell, and the next

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<v Speaker 1>morning I was taken back to the camp. Sky's father

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<v Speaker 1>was there with the police. They had discovered the drawings

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<v Speaker 1>I had made of Sky, then stood by as her

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<v Speaker 1>father went berserk and beat me with his fists. The

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<v Speaker 1>police searched for days, using horseback and dogs, but they

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<v Speaker 1>never found Sky. I even drew a sketch of what

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<v Speaker 1>I had seen running at us, but nobody had really

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<v Speaker 1>heard of a bigfoot back then, and if they had,

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<v Speaker 1>they called those who believed in it crazy. I had

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<v Speaker 1>been in jail for a week and when I was

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<v Speaker 1>charged with the kidnapping and murder of Sky, and I

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<v Speaker 1>was on trial within less than two months. I had

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<v Speaker 1>a public defender that was a relative of the sheriff,

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<v Speaker 1>and I told the judge that I'd rather defend myself

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<v Speaker 1>than to have him do, knowing I would have a

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<v Speaker 1>better chance of turning into a bird and flying away

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<v Speaker 1>than getting off. That ended up being a mistake. After that,

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't appeal the courts ruling if I defended myself,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was found guilty and sent to a mental

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<v Speaker 1>health hospital, where I was constantly sedated for two years.

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<v Speaker 1>After that, I was sent to a federal prison, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's where I've been for the last forty eight years.

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<v Speaker 1>Every now and then I have some visitors. It's mainly

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<v Speaker 1>my family. Several times Sky's parents have come begging me

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<v Speaker 1>to tell them what I had done with her. I

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<v Speaker 1>felt so much pain for her parents, who had no

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<v Speaker 1>closure whatever. I told them the same story over and

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<v Speaker 1>over until everyone finally stopped coming. I was able to

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<v Speaker 1>keep myself busy in prison with my drawing skills. I

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<v Speaker 1>can't tell you how many convicts are walking around with

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<v Speaker 1>tattoos of Sky on their arms or backs. This was

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<v Speaker 1>the only way that I could keep her memory alive.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know how many more years I can walk

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<v Speaker 1>these barred concrete walls with the high barbed wire fences.

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<v Speaker 1>A cage bird in mourning my sky keep saying your prayers.

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<v Speaker 1>I just hope that she didn't suffer