My preparation began when I was convicted and went into the prison system. I'd never been in prison before. I'd never spent one second in jail before.
I looked at the sentence, and I looked at the prison environment where I was serving my time, and I knew that was not a place for me. People have asked me how I prepared for my hearing. It began at that point. I realized there was a chance--a chance--that at some point down the road I might be able to return to the community.
When I was convicted, the judge didn't say anything about the judicial review process or a section 745 application. He sentenced me to life and I believed him. I took that seriously.
When I started looking into the law, realizing that I didn't want to be in prison.... I didn't want to be there. I hated every second of it. I realized that if I was ever going to make it back into the community, I was going to have to live my life to the best of my ability inside those prisons. It was that process, and when I came out on parole.... I take parole very seriously, because I can be sent back at any time. A life sentence is forever.