Mom Protected My Attacker, I Went to Prison

Synopsis

In my fifth year in prison, my mother visited for the first time. She was a nationally renowned lawyer and the key witness whose testimony put me here. We picked up the phones on either side of the thick glass. Her eyes were red when she asked how I had been all these years. I told her I was fine. Just before the visit ended, she said, "Aubrey, I bought a house in Havenwood. You will be out in three days. We can start over. " I smiled but said nothing. We could not start over. She did not know that to end the suffering of my cellmate Brenda, who had late stage cancer, I helped her die. For that, I was sentenced to death. My execution date was in three days. 1. A cold draft seeped in through the cracks in the iron window. Only the static hum of the phone line filled the visitation room. Mom took a stack of documents from her bag and pressed them against the glass. "Aubrey Hayes, this is the deed. It's in your name. " "And this is a letter of recommendation for the art school you always wanted. I've arranged everything. " Mom pointed at the documents, then instinctively looked toward me. "After you're released, go abroad for a while. Let things settle. Come back