1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,560 Speaker 1: Hey, it's Sannah here to give your heads up on 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,240 Speaker 1: what to expect in this final episode. There's going to 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,239 Speaker 1: be mentions of murder, domestic abuse, and addiction phist. There'll 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: be some distressing scenes. Oh and you guessed it, some 5 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: bad language. But you'll also get to see what the 6 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,760 Speaker 1: future might hold for Kelly and how she's rebuilding her 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: life beyond prison. If you're affected by any of the 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: themes around domestic and gendered violence in this show, reach 9 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: out to our charity partner No More. 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 2: There are a domestic. 11 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: Violence charity with a lot of great resources to help 12 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: you or your loved ones. You can search No More 13 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: dot org and we've also put a link to their 14 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: website in the episode description. It's the twenty seventh of 15 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: April twenty twenty two. Kelly Harnett is in a familiar place, 16 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: a prison transfer van. 17 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 2: She's on her way to court. 18 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: Over the past decade and some change as her case 19 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 1: slowly moved through the justice system, Kelly has made a 20 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 1: lot of similar journeys, but this time something is different. 21 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 3: I am not kidding. I thought I was getting kidnapped 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 3: on the way to court. 23 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: She's been traveling for two hours She's alone in the van. 24 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 2: Say for the prison guards up front. 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,759 Speaker 4: It was the most surreal feeling. 26 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 3: In the world. 27 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 4: I'm in the van with no windows. I'm screaming at them, 28 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 4: why is this taking someone to get there? 29 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 3: And they're not answering me at all. 30 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: In the silence, Kelly's mind kicks into overdrive, imagining a 31 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: hundred different, equally distressing scenarios. Kelly's particularly anxious right now 32 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: because today isn't just any other day in court. If 33 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: all goes well, it will be her last, because she's 34 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: finally getting resentenced. Kelly squints, blinking as the sunlight paws 35 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: into the prison van, her heart beating as she wonders 36 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: where the hell she is. 37 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 3: Oh, this is Queen's Court. 38 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: Safely unkidnapped and dropped off at her destination. 39 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 2: Kelly steadies herself. 40 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: Then she starts walking towards her freedom. 41 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 3: This was so cinematic. 42 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 4: It was like the most beautiful courtate you could ever imagine. 43 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 4: I had on a white collared shirt, the tan pants 44 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 4: that they make you wear. 45 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 3: I wore my hair down. 46 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 4: And made sure I did my makeup really nice, and 47 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 4: I was ready to go home. 48 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: Kelly strides into Queen's court flanks by two prison guys. 49 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: They get into the lift and make her face the wall. 50 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: Then she's called into the courtroom where she'll be standing 51 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: in front of Judge Brunner dBase. 52 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 4: As soon as I walked out, she said, good morning, 53 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 4: Miss Harnett with this bright smile. 54 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 5: No judge ever looked at her or smiled at her. 55 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 5: One smile made such an impression on her. 56 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: You've probably already guessed, but this is Judge dBase. 57 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 5: I do make a conscious effort to interact with the 58 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 5: individuals in my court. Many of the litigants. I often 59 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 5: think that when they come in and they see me 60 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 5: and probably think, what does she understand about my pain? 61 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 5: But I do. 62 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: Judge Dbs's son Eric died of a drug overdose about 63 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: thirteen years ago. Then in twenty nineteen, her daughter Lisa, 64 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: who also struggled with addiction, hit a cyclist named John 65 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: James Uzma Quintero with her car. She was drunk and 66 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: high at the time. John died and Lisa went to 67 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges. By the time 68 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: Kelly walks into Judge Dbiassi's courtroom in twenty twenty two, 69 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: Lisa is behind bars. 70 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 5: Having had an incrocerted daughter has informed my decisions now 71 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 5: about the length of a sentence individual should receive. I 72 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 5: was so not versed in all of that at the 73 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:42,600 Speaker 5: time of my son's active addiction. That was me. 74 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 3: But you know, there's only so much you. 75 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 5: Can dwell in the past, and so what I've decided 76 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,719 Speaker 5: to do is to take the knowledge that I have 77 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 5: now and to move forward and to help other people 78 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 5: with it. 79 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: Kelly has stood in front of more than a few 80 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: judges in her time. It's normally been a fight well 81 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 1: that Kelly is prepared to have again if needed. 82 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 2: Luckily it isn't. 83 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 4: What she said to me next was as close to 84 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 4: indication as I'll ever get. She said to me, Miss Harnett, 85 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,039 Speaker 4: I just want to let you know that I have 86 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 4: read every single page of every motion that you have 87 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 4: ever written. She's talking about the things I was starting 88 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 4: to write from Rikers throughout all those years, and I 89 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 4: always thought they're throwing them in the garbage. But she 90 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 4: read them and that meant the world to me, and 91 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 4: she said, I know how much you went through. You 92 00:05:50,760 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 4: stand here before me today as a true survivor. 93 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: Finally, Judge debiasse Leans forward, smile still on her face, 94 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: and then she says the words Kelly's been waiting to 95 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: hear all this time, resentenced, time served. 96 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 4: I said, your honor is giving me my second chance 97 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 4: at life. I walked out the court room and when 98 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 4: I went back into the elevator, I faced the war. 99 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 3: They said, you don't have to face the war. 100 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: No longer able to contain herself, tears start rolling down 101 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: Kelly's face. Before long, her lawyer, Kate Morgalascu is by 102 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: her side. 103 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,119 Speaker 2: I was like, it's over. 104 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 3: It's really, it's over. It's over. 105 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:46,719 Speaker 2: Is it over. 106 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 3: She's like, yes, Kelly, it's over. It's over. 107 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 2: But here's the thing. Kate is wrong. 108 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: Because Kelly might be getting out of prison, but this 109 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: story isn't for her, not by a long shot. I'm 110 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: Anison Field and from the teams at Novel and iHeart Podcasts, 111 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: this is the Girlfriends Gelhouse Lawyer. 112 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 2: Episode eight, No Regrets. 113 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: After Kelly's triumphant court date, she gets sent back to 114 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: prison while they sought out all the admin for her 115 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,000 Speaker 1: release as a bit of a distraction, and Kelly throws 116 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: herself into finishing up all her legal work for her 117 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: jailhouse clients. It's the morning of the fifth of May 118 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two. Kelly's busy putting the final touches together. 119 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,559 Speaker 4: I was actually up all night working on someone's case, 120 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 4: because leaving also meant leaving people's cases behind. But I 121 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 4: mean sure, I kind of wrap everything up. 122 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: Kelly slides a folder full of paperwork under her last 123 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 1: client cell door. 124 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 4: So so hard leaving everyone. I have so much survivor's skilled. 125 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: Just before she goes, Kelly divvys up all her precious 126 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: prison belongings amongst her closest friends. She gives the coat 127 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: to a girl called Lacey, a sweater to her friend Manny, 128 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: and a pair of shoes to her friend Trinity, and 129 00:08:50,840 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: then it's time to say goodbye. 130 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 4: When it came out of the yeats, I remember screaming 131 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 4: and going who. 132 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 3: And putting my arms in the air. 133 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: Kelly's being released alongside three other inmates. As she watches 134 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: each of them embrace their families, sees them hugging so 135 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: tight it's bound to leave bruises, she stands alone. 136 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 4: I felt bad because the other people had their family 137 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 4: there and I didn't. I didn't have anybody, and everybody 138 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 4: whose family was hugging them. 139 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 3: They just wanted to be with my mother. 140 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,079 Speaker 1: Kelly's mother, Kathleen, has been taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, 141 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:50,439 Speaker 1: about forty miles away. Kelly's brother, Ronnie is by her bedside. 142 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: As a condition of her parole, Kelly has to go 143 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: straight to her approved accommodation. She's saying, in a specialist 144 00:09:57,640 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: facility that helps women released from prison. 145 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 4: But I told them, you know, I have to get 146 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 4: to the hospital immediately, and thank god, they said, okay. 147 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: As soon as she's able. Kelly's at the hospital. 148 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 4: The lady asked, what's your name? Who are you here for? 149 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 4: I said, Kelly Harnett. I'm here for Kathleen Harnett. I 150 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 4: didn't know her room number or anything. So she takes 151 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:27,160 Speaker 4: visitors pass. She writes, Kathleen Harnett, Room three thirty three. 152 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 3: She looks at a watch. It was three oh three. 153 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 4: She goes, Oh my god, I said what She goes, 154 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 4: something amazing is about to happen. 155 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,959 Speaker 3: They look at the threes. She said, father's son in 156 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 3: the Holy Spirit. My mouth dropped. I said, how did 157 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 3: you know that something amazing is going to happen. I'm 158 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 3: going to see my mother for the first time in 159 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 3: thirteen years. 160 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:00,559 Speaker 1: Kelly practically runs down the hospital corridor until she finds room. 161 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:03,440 Speaker 2: Three three three. 162 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:08,280 Speaker 1: Stepping in, she can see four women in beds. She 163 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:14,680 Speaker 1: frantically scans the room, searching for her mother. She doesn't 164 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: recognize any of them. 165 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 3: I said, do I have the right room? 166 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 4: And then I looked in front of me, and then 167 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 4: when I looked at her eyes, I said, that's my mother. 168 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 3: That's my mother. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. 169 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 3: It looked like you could break her. Like I was 170 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 3: afraid to touch her. 171 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,679 Speaker 4: I wanted to run and go break down, but I said, 172 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 4: you can't cry. 173 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 3: You have to be as strong as possible for mommy. 174 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 4: And then I walked in and I tried to act 175 00:11:57,520 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 4: like I had seen her yesterday. 176 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 3: I said, ma, hi, and she. 177 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 6: Goes, Kelly, Oh my god, Kelly, is it really you? 178 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 1: Oh? 179 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,960 Speaker 4: And she started to cry and smile at the same time. 180 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 4: She couldn't lift her arms to hold out, so I 181 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 4: leaned over and I hugged her, and she was like, 182 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 4: you look so beautiful. I can't believe that you're out. 183 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,080 Speaker 4: When the time came that I had to leave and 184 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:38,560 Speaker 4: go to this new house, she started crying, and honestly 185 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 4: I was cheering up too, because I didn't want to 186 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 4: leave her. 187 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 7: I wish I could have just stayed there with her 188 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 7: all day because I was afraid. 189 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:49,560 Speaker 4: I didn't know, like if she was going to be okay. 190 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:54,600 Speaker 1: The next day, Kathleen is released from hospital and goes 191 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:56,319 Speaker 1: back home to the family apartment. 192 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 2: She's still not well. 193 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 3: And the worst part of getting out of prison is. 194 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 6: That the first two weeks are the busiest weeks. 195 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 3: Of your life. 196 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,800 Speaker 4: You're running all around, trying to get id, trying to 197 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 4: get your birth certificate, trying to get to go to 198 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 4: the DMV. But I did make sure that I went 199 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 4: to see her as much as possible. 200 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 1: Kelly's not just busy running around searching for documents. Her 201 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,839 Speaker 1: movements are also restricted by nightly curfew. On the night 202 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: of May thirty first, just a couple of weeks after 203 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: Kelly's release, her brother Ronnie, calls her up in a panic. 204 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 4: He said, mommy's not doing so good. I said, what 205 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 4: do you mean, and he said, she's not breathing that well. 206 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 8: I don't know. 207 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 3: He goes, you have to come home here, and I 208 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 3: was on pro so I had curfew. 209 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,199 Speaker 1: The month's breathing gets shallower. Kelly tells Ronnie to call 210 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 1: an ambulance and that she'll call him back right away. 211 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 6: I called Ronnie and I said, what's happening. He's like, well, 212 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 6: the ambulance is here. They don't have a pulse. 213 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 3: I was steeling the outside. I fell to the ground 214 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 3: and I was like, oh my. 215 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 8: God, please, please guy, please, I need my army. 216 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:30,960 Speaker 2: I need my army, I need my mommy. 217 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 6: And then he said, Kelly, I'm a bit of feeling. 218 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 6: I have a bit of feeling or more ems. Just 219 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 6: keep me, he said, disciplined nineteen twenty people up there. 220 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: After an achingly long sixteen minutes, the crowd of EMTs 221 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: managed to find a pulse. Kathleen has taken back to 222 00:14:54,880 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: hospital and put on a ventilator. She dies the next day, 223 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: on June first, aged seventy two. 224 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 3: I have so much guilt for not just breaking curfew 225 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 3: that once I listened to the stupid freaking curfew and 226 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 3: went home. But he needed me. 227 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 8: He needed me right, He needed me, and so did 228 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 8: my mother. And my mother kept asking for me, he said, 229 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 8: so she knew she was dying. 230 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 6: Well, nowis asking for me on her deathbed? 231 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 4: You know we could laugh about it now, but I 232 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 4: last last of words were. 233 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 9: Give me a cigarette. My mother loved to smoke, so 234 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 9: I have two shrines up in the house of her, 235 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 9: so I. 236 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 3: Always put cigarettes there for her. 237 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 6: Because she never got the one, so I always put 238 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 6: them there for her. 239 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: Kelly, maybe I want to laugh about it now, but 240 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: deep inside, she's still grieving and she's still really angry. 241 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 10: I was thirteen years of my life with my mother 242 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 10: because I wasn't here, because I was in prison for 243 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 10: something I didn't even get him do. It altered the 244 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 10: whole family when they put me in prison, they put 245 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 10: everybody in prison. 246 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:00,240 Speaker 1: After Kathleen dies, Ronnie and Kelly have her cremated, just 247 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: like they did for their father, Danny, when he died 248 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: about twenty years before. 249 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 2: My mom. 250 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,200 Speaker 4: When she used to get mad at him every once 251 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 4: in a while after he was deceased, she would be like, 252 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,919 Speaker 4: you know what, throw those ashes out, and I was like, no, no, 253 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 4: we're not. When I was away, I told Ronnie, I said, 254 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 4: please put Daddy's ashes as high up as they could 255 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 4: possibly go so that Mommy can't find them, and he did. 256 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: When Kelly gets back into their family apartment, she has 257 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: right for the closet. Straining on tiptoes, she pushes past 258 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: all the piles of old clothes and forgotten ornaments until 259 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: she sees them, her dad's ashes waiting in their container. 260 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: Kelly gently lifts them out, He sits out. 261 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,680 Speaker 3: I don't know, you've finally happy that you're out of 262 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 3: the closet. 263 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 4: Oh God, he would live too, if he was alive 264 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 4: with herpe you say that he was thro this thing 265 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,640 Speaker 4: from gate, But it was funny. 266 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,680 Speaker 1: They have to borrow money for their mom's cremation. None 267 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 1: of them had any savings. In fact, it was pretty 268 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 1: much the opposite. Kathleen had been in debt to the 269 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: hospital pharmacy, but thanks to a gofund me page set 270 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: up for Kelly and help from a prison support group, 271 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: Kelly and Ronnie are able to get some cash together. 272 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:28,880 Speaker 4: When her ashes were finally delivered, Ronnie and I had 273 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 4: already discussed going across the street, a live across street 274 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 4: from the East River and disposing of the ashes together, 275 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 4: Daddy's ashes and my mother's ashes. 276 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: There's something about the girlfriends and the East River. No 277 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: matter which story we tell, we always seem to get 278 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: called back to these waters. You can find a hundred 279 00:18:57,359 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: metaphors for life and death amongst the rock waves. Maybe 280 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,480 Speaker 1: we were meant to find ourselves here at the East River, 281 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:11,880 Speaker 1: drawn in by kismet or fades or whatever you want 282 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: to call it. But then again, maybe there's nothing to it, 283 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:23,000 Speaker 1: and it's just one of those weird coincidences. Maybe it's 284 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 1: just a nice place to say goodbye to someone. 285 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 4: First, we started with my dad, because we figured he 286 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 4: was first. 287 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:35,360 Speaker 3: He's been very patient. 288 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 4: We started throwing his ashes and throwing rose petals, and 289 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 4: throwing his ashes, throwing rose petals, rose petals. All of 290 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 4: a sudden, I cannot explain to you the way the 291 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 4: water had changed. We had been there for at least 292 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,120 Speaker 4: a half an hour already, not one solitary boat had 293 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 4: passed by, and that's what creates wait. 294 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 3: It almost looked like a pond. 295 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:06,320 Speaker 4: As soon as we started throwing my father's ashes in 296 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 4: the water, it started coming up these waves, waves, But 297 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:20,040 Speaker 4: I didn't feel that they were violent. I felt that 298 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 4: it was his energy, and I felt that he was 299 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 4: happy to be free, and I felt that he knew 300 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 4: that his wife. 301 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 3: Was coming finally. And then when we finished with his ashes, 302 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 3: we went to my mom's. 303 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:46,560 Speaker 4: My mom's was very calm to the contrary, and I 304 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 4: just kept throwing out rose petals and rose petals and 305 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 4: rose petals. Ronnie and I held each other's hands set 306 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 4: of prayer, and we thanked them for everything, and thanked 307 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 4: them before making us. 308 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 3: Into the people who we are today, and. 309 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 4: Thank them just for being our appearents and that we 310 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 4: got it from here. 311 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: We'll never know how Kathleen feels about her ashes being 312 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: scattered alongside her husband Danny's. 313 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 2: She did love him once. 314 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: Kelly still vividly remembers the pair of them kissing in 315 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:41,240 Speaker 1: that hotel pool in Disneyland. But he's also the same 316 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 1: man who went awol from his family time and again, 317 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: who attacked his wife, wrapping a phone card around her neck, 318 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:53,639 Speaker 1: causing her to get a restraining order. Still, I can 319 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: understand why Kelly would want them back together. Ask any 320 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 1: kid from a broken home, usually, deep down, their most 321 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: heartfelt wish is for their parents to reunite. Maybe Kelly 322 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,640 Speaker 1: thinks that if she can bring her parents back together 323 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: in the river, the effect will somehow ripple out and 324 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:17,320 Speaker 1: help heal the rest of her life. 325 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 2: Or maybe all this water's just going to my head. 326 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: Once Kelly's release from prison, she doesn't get to sit 327 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:35,199 Speaker 1: around pondering the symbolic connection between life and water like 328 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,639 Speaker 1: some artsy British podcaster. She has to get back to 329 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 1: work fast so she can start rebuilding her life and 330 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:49,240 Speaker 1: just as importantly, start earning. But that's easier said than done. 331 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: Part of Kelly's release agreement when her charge was changed 332 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,159 Speaker 1: to manslaughter and she was sentenced to time served, was 333 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: that she had to enter a new. 334 00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:04,119 Speaker 2: Plea of guilty. 335 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: This wasn't what she wanted, especially after spending over a 336 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: decade pleading her innocence. 337 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:13,400 Speaker 3: If you're entering a plea of guilty, you're saying you did. 338 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 2: It, but needs must. 339 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 3: I had to get home to my mother. 340 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:18,159 Speaker 2: You have to do what you had to do. 341 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: Sometimes, Kelly isn't exonerated in the eyes of the justice system. 342 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,480 Speaker 1: She's legally admitted her part in the killing of a 343 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: man and that will stay on her record forever. So 344 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,679 Speaker 1: while she's now free, she has to deal with the 345 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 1: price of that freedom for the rest of her life. 346 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: Trying to get a job, for example, you can guess 347 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 1: how many places want to hire someone with a record 348 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:48,440 Speaker 1: like Kelly's. 349 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 4: The only jobs that I've gotten thus far have been 350 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:57,120 Speaker 4: jobs from people that actually know me personally and they 351 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,879 Speaker 4: know what I am capable of, which is why I 352 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 4: was actually hired straight out of Bedford Hills. Like, while 353 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:08,199 Speaker 4: I was still within the prison walls, I had a 354 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 4: job with NYU Law School. 355 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: But Kelly finds out this new job is only temporary. 356 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: Within four months, she's back looking for work. 357 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 4: I was under the impression that, due to my vast 358 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,640 Speaker 4: legal knowledge, this was going to be a lot easier 359 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 4: for myself than for the average person. I mean, I've 360 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:33,400 Speaker 4: gotten many people out of jail. I've gotten so many 361 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,160 Speaker 4: sentence reductions, and the fact that they were not even 362 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 4: hearing me out because of the fact that they see 363 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:42,880 Speaker 4: conviction conviction. 364 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: It's October first, twenty twenty four. I'm back with Kelly, 365 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 1: who's in her apartment that she shares with her brother 366 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:58,040 Speaker 1: Ronnie and her twenty five stuffed animals. I know that 367 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: jobs have been a big issue over the last kind 368 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,879 Speaker 1: of few months. I just wondered where you're at with 369 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: your trying to get work situation. 370 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:11,720 Speaker 4: Yes, I'm actually currently trying to get work, and I've 371 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:16,480 Speaker 4: been trying so hard and there is not a day 372 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 4: that I don't apply to at least twenty jobs. And 373 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 4: when I open my emails every day, there are over 374 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 4: one hundred emails. 375 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 3: Sometimes there's three hundred without exaggeration. I go through everyone 376 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 3: would find youth Colm. 377 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 4: So I have a full time job right now of 378 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 4: trying to get a full time job. 379 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:45,920 Speaker 1: Despite helping to get several women out of prison, Kelly's 380 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: not a qualified lawyer in the eyes of the state. 381 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 1: After her release, she attended and graduated from a Columbia 382 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:58,439 Speaker 1: Law School paralegal program, but her real dream is to 383 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:02,399 Speaker 1: become an attorney lawyer, and for that she needs to 384 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,360 Speaker 1: go back to law school, something that would take years 385 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 386 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 1: the meantime, Kelly's applying for any work she can get. 387 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:19,639 Speaker 4: Actually, speaking of which, I had gone on a job interview. 388 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 4: I don't want to say the company's name, but it's 389 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,360 Speaker 4: a great, great company, and they were going to make 390 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:29,240 Speaker 4: me a financial advisor, and everybody really liked me there. 391 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 4: I didn't see a reason why I wouldn't get it, 392 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 4: and I believe they did not either. They congratulated me 393 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,439 Speaker 4: and shook my hand, and then as I was walking away, 394 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,639 Speaker 4: stated we just have to do a quick background check. 395 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,360 Speaker 4: That's when my heart hit my stomach. 396 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,120 Speaker 3: I cried, and I cried, and I. 397 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 4: Cried for weeks. I still cry. There's never a week 398 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 4: where I don't cry. There's never a week. 399 00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:59,199 Speaker 3: And I'll tell you the truth. 400 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 4: It is not even over the conviction at this point, 401 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,320 Speaker 4: or at least I don't think it is. If I 402 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 4: could just get a chance to be the Kelly that 403 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 4: I was when I was in there, I think I'll 404 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 4: be fine. 405 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 3: But that's what kept me going my work. 406 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,399 Speaker 4: When you take my work from me, now I don't 407 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 4: have anything. 408 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:29,679 Speaker 1: It's not just that Kelly's imprisonment and subsequent parole is 409 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: impacting her job. Hunt is that the new life she 410 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: sacrificed so much for seems to be built on sand. 411 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 1: And I'm about to find out that Kelly's freedom is 412 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 1: ready to slip away from her. 413 00:27:45,960 --> 00:28:11,480 Speaker 11: At a moment's notice. 414 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:17,760 Speaker 12: Hime, now you can do good. Thanks to see you again. 415 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:20,960 Speaker 12: It's such a crazy to say. 416 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:22,520 Speaker 3: After you guys left yesterday. 417 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:26,000 Speaker 4: Yeah, out of nowhere first and foremost. 418 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,400 Speaker 1: When Kelly was released from prison in twenty twenty two, 419 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: she was originally sentenced to five years post release supervision 420 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,480 Speaker 1: aka parole. But just like in prison, you're able to 421 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: get time off for good behavior. 422 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,600 Speaker 12: Every thirty days that you abide by all of their rules, 423 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:49,440 Speaker 12: which is curfew, have a job, be in the programs 424 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 12: that they expect for you to be in, then they 425 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 12: give you thirty days back. 426 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 4: So what it really boils down to is if you're perfect, 427 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 4: like I was, you want to hear fears that you do. 428 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: Kelly's worked hard to get her parole time down so 429 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,000 Speaker 1: she can live her life on her own terms. Now 430 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: I have to check in with some state sanctioned babysitter 431 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,920 Speaker 1: every couple of months. She's due to finish on November fifth, 432 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, about a month on from the date 433 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: of this recording, or at least she was. Last night, 434 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 1: Kelly's parole officers stopped by her Visit was unexpected. 435 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,080 Speaker 4: I was like, is she trying to like catch me 436 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,240 Speaker 4: like before I leave to see if maybe I'm not home. 437 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 4: Let me see if I can catch her like She 438 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:40,239 Speaker 4: missed her her few so that was already weird. She 439 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:46,240 Speaker 4: asked me if I ever took anger management Kelly has. 440 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,240 Speaker 2: It was one of the conditions of her parole. 441 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 4: Of course, I took anger management, and she's asked me 442 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 4: that every single time that I've gone to see her, 443 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 4: and I was in that program for nine months. So 444 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,520 Speaker 4: she proceeds to ask me where my certificated. I was 445 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,640 Speaker 4: never given a certificate. I was told that it was 446 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 4: to be given to my parole officer by the man 447 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 4: who was conducting the program. Then she asked me, well, 448 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 4: what else were you supposed to do? 449 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 1: Tune a half years later, it feels weird that it's 450 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:22,200 Speaker 1: her parole officer asking Kelly this, like, shouldn't she know. 451 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: Kelly was also originally supposed to enter a twelve month 452 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: substance abuse program, but given that by the time of 453 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: her release, she had been clean for over a decade, 454 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,680 Speaker 1: it was decided that this program could actually do Kelly 455 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:39,280 Speaker 1: more harm than good, so she was given an exemption. 456 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: She says that this was outlined in a letter, but 457 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: her parole officer is sounding unconvinced. 458 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 4: So she said, well, we don't have that letter, so 459 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 4: I'm freaking out. 460 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 3: I said, well, where is it? She said, I don't know. 461 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 3: I don't know, but I need that. 462 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 4: You know, if you can't get him WI, you're gonna 463 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 4: have to do the programs again. 464 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,040 Speaker 3: And acted like it was nothing. Yeah, you're just gonna 465 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 3: have to do the programs again. 466 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:12,560 Speaker 4: That would mean that I would still be on parole 467 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 4: at least nine months past my date. I had the 468 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 4: biggest nervous breakdown that I've had since my mother passed away. 469 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 3: I was screaming to the top of my lungs. 470 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:30,600 Speaker 4: I broke down because being on parole is not actually free. 471 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:34,320 Speaker 1: Kelly's only hope is to track down her first parole 472 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: officer who can confirm that she's completed all the programs 473 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:37,880 Speaker 1: she needs to. 474 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 3: Devastated, I don't know. I don't know where I stand 475 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 3: with anything. 476 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 4: They got way too many years out of me already. 477 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,920 Speaker 4: I'm sorry they just caught me on a day like this, 478 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 4: but that's unfortunately where I'm at today. 479 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 2: Sorry, but that's really hard. I hope this your first 480 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,280 Speaker 2: officer would be able to help. I hope so too. 481 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, she's my only hope. 482 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:15,239 Speaker 1: Well, look, I think the best solution for today is 483 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: to not do. 484 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,720 Speaker 3: The rest of the And I was gonna ask you 485 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:20,200 Speaker 3: about that. 486 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 1: Why don't we move it to another day and if 487 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:25,760 Speaker 1: you're around on Saturday, we have a free day. 488 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 3: Then are you doing okay? Because I said, that's Ronnie. 489 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:32,240 Speaker 1: I said, I've been busy this whole time trying to 490 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: tell you a story, a nice, juicy narrative with a 491 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:42,040 Speaker 1: satisfying ending. But this isn't just a story for Kelly. 492 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: This is her life and she's living it every single day. 493 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,239 Speaker 1: As far as reality checks go, this one's about as 494 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:55,760 Speaker 1: subtle as a punch in the face. I actually don't 495 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 1: see Kelly in person again after this. Her and Ronnie 496 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:01,880 Speaker 1: got COVID and I went back to London with no 497 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 1: ending to my story. As soon as I got home, 498 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: I tried and failed to set up a few more 499 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:15,040 Speaker 1: interviews over zoom, but for some reason or another, Kelly 500 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 1: would often end up dropping out. I'll admit I laid 501 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,239 Speaker 1: awake at night worried these back to back cancelations may 502 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,880 Speaker 1: actually be because this was all too much for Kelly, 503 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:29,920 Speaker 1: revisiting her traumatic past when her present is inches away 504 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 1: from falling apart. So I gave her some space. A 505 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:47,000 Speaker 1: few weeks later, I give Kelly a call. The first 506 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,320 Speaker 1: question I wanted to ask you about was if you'd 507 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:54,080 Speaker 1: had any kind of update on the parole officer malarkey. 508 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:55,080 Speaker 3: Yes. 509 00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:02,200 Speaker 4: So after I had that whole nervous breakdown when she 510 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:08,120 Speaker 4: stated that basically she had nothing on me, which means 511 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 4: that every. 512 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 1: Solitary Kelly goes on in a way that I've become 513 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,480 Speaker 1: used to, outlining all the issues with the parole board, 514 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: how she had to track down her former parole officers 515 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:22,200 Speaker 1: and course leaders, all the pages of evidence she put together. 516 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:28,240 Speaker 1: If left uninterrupted, I honestly think she could go on indefinitely. 517 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:31,960 Speaker 4: Really call on to question the integrity of the parole officer. 518 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:33,239 Speaker 3: How could you not. 519 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:38,440 Speaker 1: Have She's not just talking, It's like she's testifying, like 520 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 1: every day is her court day. 521 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:42,319 Speaker 2: It makes me feel a little sad. 522 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:46,120 Speaker 1: Honestly, they'll make her a fucking great lawyer one day. 523 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,759 Speaker 1: Eventually I get the answer I'm hoping for. 524 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:53,280 Speaker 3: Now I speak to you today as a free woman. 525 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:58,480 Speaker 2: That's amazing. Oh congratulations, Kelly, Thank you so much. You 526 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:01,080 Speaker 2: must feel so relieved, so relieved. 527 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,480 Speaker 1: Now that the shadow of her parole has finally passed, 528 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,439 Speaker 1: Kelly can start to plan her life and hopefully build 529 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 1: a future for herself. 530 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:16,600 Speaker 2: What's like the what's the dream for the next five years? 531 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 4: The next five years, I would say the dream is 532 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:28,320 Speaker 4: for me to find a paralegal job, one that is permanent, 533 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 4: and to climb the ladder within that firm, and I 534 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,160 Speaker 4: know that I would climb the ladder very quickly. I 535 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:46,320 Speaker 4: also would love a chance to give back to people 536 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:50,839 Speaker 4: in prison. Honestly, where I would start if it were 537 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 4: up to me is Rikers Island, because they don't realize 538 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:59,600 Speaker 4: how important the law Library is, and it was always 539 00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:05,279 Speaker 4: empty when I was there. So I feel that if 540 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:09,879 Speaker 4: given the chance, I would like to even possibly work 541 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 4: at Rikers Island at the law Library. 542 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:17,240 Speaker 3: Really, yeah, wouldn't that be a bit much for you? 543 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:22,680 Speaker 4: No? No, because I want, especially the women to understand 544 00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:23,440 Speaker 4: their cases. 545 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:26,600 Speaker 3: I think I have a mission from God. 546 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:30,480 Speaker 4: I think I was put here to save souls by 547 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:34,960 Speaker 4: getting people out of prison. That sounds like an insane statement, 548 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:39,759 Speaker 4: but that is my belief at this point. 549 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,160 Speaker 1: I came to the story thinking I knew what to expect, 550 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:45,320 Speaker 1: but I couldn't have been more wrong. 551 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:49,359 Speaker 2: I was searching for. 552 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:53,439 Speaker 1: A clean, easy truth, and I had all these preconceived 553 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 1: notions of what it means to be a victim. But 554 00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,520 Speaker 1: when Kelly didn't fit into the role I tried to 555 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:03,799 Speaker 1: assign her, it made me question everything about her and 556 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:09,080 Speaker 1: a lot about myself too. I've obviously interviewed a lot 557 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:13,280 Speaker 1: of people in my life who have had amazing experiences 558 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:18,480 Speaker 1: that are extraordinary, But I've never met anyone. 559 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 2: Like you who. 560 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:23,759 Speaker 1: All of your stories, they're often kind of shocking and 561 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:26,680 Speaker 1: like they're almost sometimes. 562 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:27,040 Speaker 2: Hard to believe. 563 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:28,359 Speaker 3: It's hard to believe that. 564 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:32,560 Speaker 4: Yes, I say that all the time. There's been a 565 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:34,239 Speaker 4: lot of insane stories. 566 00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:35,040 Speaker 2: I agree. 567 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:40,840 Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I'm not going to apologize for what 568 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,319 Speaker 4: it perceives to be miraculous stories. 569 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:45,920 Speaker 3: What I will tell. 570 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:51,399 Speaker 4: You if you fail to understand them or even believe them, 571 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,799 Speaker 4: then unfortunately you're the one missing out. And I think 572 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:58,120 Speaker 4: that you need to pray more and have more faith. 573 00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:00,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, fair enough. 574 00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:10,400 Speaker 1: I can safely say that I have never met anyone 575 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:16,439 Speaker 1: like Kelly Harnett before. Kelly is loud and disruptive. She's 576 00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:20,880 Speaker 1: a former drug addict who's exercised violence on multiple occasions, 577 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:24,920 Speaker 1: both in self defense against violent partners and in prison 578 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 1: as a way of letting other inmates know that she's 579 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:31,759 Speaker 1: not to be fucked with. Her battle for survival has 580 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:36,880 Speaker 1: been messy and at times ugly. She's told me so 581 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:39,279 Speaker 1: many stories that made me want to grab her by 582 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:42,359 Speaker 1: the shoulders and tell her to stop making herself look 583 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:49,000 Speaker 1: so bad. So yeah, Kelly Hannett is no perfect victim, 584 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:51,840 Speaker 1: but you can't call her a villain either. 585 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:59,200 Speaker 2: She's a loving sister, a loyal friend. 586 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:05,640 Speaker 1: I can't deny she worked fucking hard, even if you 587 00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:08,880 Speaker 1: don't believe her account of the night Angel Vargas was murdered. 588 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:11,920 Speaker 1: If you think she did kick him, or that she's 589 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: somehow more culpable than she says, does that discount everything 590 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:18,719 Speaker 1: she went through at the hands of her brutal boyfriend, 591 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:21,800 Speaker 1: or everything she's achieved in the years following. 592 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:23,600 Speaker 2: I don't think it does. 593 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:29,200 Speaker 1: Kelly, a survivor of the most devastating trauma and abuse, 594 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:35,160 Speaker 1: taught herself the law inside and out as a jailhouse lawyer, 595 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,720 Speaker 1: first in Rikers and then in Bedford. She brought hope 596 00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:41,920 Speaker 1: to women who had been through helen back, women whose 597 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:46,080 Speaker 1: entire lives had been an endless cycle of abuse and violence, 598 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,319 Speaker 1: who often ended up trapped in terrible situations they were 599 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:53,000 Speaker 1: too scared to leave, and who did whatever it took 600 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:57,400 Speaker 1: to survive. She even helped some of them gain their freedom, 601 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:00,319 Speaker 1: and ultimately she freed herself. 602 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:02,840 Speaker 2: But for Kelly. 603 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:05,960 Speaker 1: That freedom has come at a high price. And I'm 604 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,400 Speaker 1: not just talking about the years she lost behind bars. 605 00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:12,320 Speaker 1: Her legal admission of guilt leaves a kind of scarlet 606 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:17,160 Speaker 1: letter hanging permanently around her neck, branded for life as 607 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:17,760 Speaker 1: a criminal. 608 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:21,080 Speaker 2: I don't know if that feels like justice to me. 609 00:40:26,719 --> 00:40:29,919 Speaker 1: I can't sum Kelly up in a sentence or even 610 00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:34,600 Speaker 1: in a whole frickin' podcast, But maybe that's the lesson 611 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:37,640 Speaker 1: I need to take from this, that my job is 612 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:42,640 Speaker 1: just to tell people stories, not to neatly package them 613 00:40:42,680 --> 00:41:02,040 Speaker 1: into categories, into victims or villains or anything else. So 614 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:09,960 Speaker 1: who is Callie Hornette really, Well, that's between her and 615 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:10,680 Speaker 1: the heavens. 616 00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:22,560 Speaker 7: We are currently in immeagular Conception Church, and I've been 617 00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:27,240 Speaker 7: coming here since I was ten years old. We're currently 618 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:33,080 Speaker 7: standing in front of the sole representation that americular Conception 619 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:37,080 Speaker 7: has of Saint. There's my Saint that has gotten me 620 00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:41,920 Speaker 7: through literally life, and it's a stainless window of her. 621 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:43,279 Speaker 5: It's showing her. 622 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:47,960 Speaker 1: The window shows Saint Therez her hair covered with a 623 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,560 Speaker 1: circular halo around her head. There are beams of heavenly 624 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:57,239 Speaker 1: light all around her. Her face is pale, and she 625 00:41:57,280 --> 00:41:59,840 Speaker 1: has wide chestnut colored eyes. 626 00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:02,240 Speaker 2: Close to her heart. 627 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:06,360 Speaker 1: She's holding a crucifix and a bouquet of roses. 628 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:12,680 Speaker 2: As Kelly gazes up at her, she clasps her hands 629 00:42:12,719 --> 00:42:13,200 Speaker 2: in prayer. 630 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:19,759 Speaker 5: Sanctuaries. 631 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:25,160 Speaker 13: I do implore you to please send a shower of 632 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:28,280 Speaker 13: roses from the heavenly gardens as a message of love 633 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:33,080 Speaker 13: for the loss of Angel Ruben Bargas, and I'd like 634 00:42:33,239 --> 00:42:36,959 Speaker 13: to pray for not just him and his soul, I'd 635 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:39,960 Speaker 13: like to pray for his entire family and their souls 636 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:45,880 Speaker 13: as well. I think of him. 637 00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:46,720 Speaker 3: All the time. 638 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:52,600 Speaker 13: If he's my angel, thank you for sending me my angel. 639 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:56,960 Speaker 13: But at the same time, it's very it's very bittersweet 640 00:42:57,040 --> 00:43:02,040 Speaker 13: because I don't want any one's life to be taken 641 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:07,239 Speaker 13: away because of me. So please also hold that with me, 642 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:10,600 Speaker 13: for it is too hard and too heavy for me 643 00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:14,360 Speaker 13: to carry alone, and ask God to hold it for me. 644 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:21,720 Speaker 13: I want to thank you for everything and for giving 645 00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:26,000 Speaker 13: me the strength to go through everything that I've gone 646 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:32,000 Speaker 13: through and to be able to get those women out. 647 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:37,759 Speaker 13: Thank you for allowing me to save a few souls 648 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:41,879 Speaker 13: just like you saved so many. 649 00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:50,120 Speaker 14: Thank you for choosing me for that job. I have 650 00:43:50,200 --> 00:44:09,040 Speaker 14: no Regrets. 651 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:19,919 Speaker 1: The Girlfriend's Gelhouse Lawyer is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. 652 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:24,000 Speaker 1: For more from Novel, visit novel dot Audio. 653 00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:25,319 Speaker 2: The show is hosted. 654 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:28,120 Speaker 1: By me Annasinfield and is written and produced by me 655 00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:32,480 Speaker 1: and Lee Meyer, with additional production from Jako Taivich and 656 00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:33,280 Speaker 1: Michael Jinno. 657 00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:35,959 Speaker 2: Our assistant producer is Madeline Parr. 658 00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:40,960 Speaker 1: The editors are Georgia Moody and me Annasinfield. Production management 659 00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:44,440 Speaker 1: from Sarie Houston, Joe Savage, and Charlotte Wolfe. 660 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:47,319 Speaker 2: Our fact checker is Daniel Suleiman. 661 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:52,080 Speaker 1: Sound design, mixing and scoring by Daniel Kempson and Nicholas Alexander. 662 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:57,040 Speaker 1: Music supervision by me alis Infield, Lee Meyer and Nicholas Alexander. 663 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:01,880 Speaker 1: Original music composed by Nicholas alex Under, Daniel Kempson and 664 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:07,360 Speaker 1: Louisa Gerstein. Story development by Nell Gray Andrews and Willard Foxton. 665 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:11,359 Speaker 1: Creative director of Novel, Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan are 666 00:45:11,520 --> 00:45:15,480 Speaker 1: executive producers for Novel, and Katrina Norvell and Nicki Etor 667 00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:19,160 Speaker 1: are the executive producers for iHeart Podcasts, and the marketing 668 00:45:19,239 --> 00:45:22,920 Speaker 1: lead is Alison Cantor. Thanks also to Carry Lieberman and 669 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:24,759 Speaker 1: the whole team at WME