Original subtitles

I was 24 years old.

I'd never been out of the country.

I was so excited.

I

didn't really

understand what was going on, but I just knew something was not right.

And I immediately saw.

I knew I was innocent.

I got locked up for a crime I didn't commit.

As soon as I got through that door, I had to find a way to survive in there.

I felt like I was going to die.

In spring of 2006, I was 24 years old.

I was a single mom of a little boy.

Jeremiah was five years old.

It was a very chaotic time in my life.

I had finally left my abusive boyfriend, and I moved me and

my son into my mom's house.

I started having anxiety attacks.

It felt like rubber bands being pulled so tight that you

couldn't take a breath.

I was terrified.

I couldn't be the person that I was.

I started to go see a psychiatrist.

They put me on a lot of pills.

It left me an emotional wreck.

All I ever wanted for Jeremiah was to give him a good, loving,

stable home.

After a year from hell, I went back to work.

No, I can't just cancel it.

Yeah, I can put you on to my supervisor, but I'm sure he'll say the same thing.

I worked in a call center at a bank.

I worked a night shift, so I didn't have problems taking care of my son.

One of my colleagues, he was a Hispanic guy. His name was Danny.

Danny was a little different.

I would say nerdy. He had figurines all over his desk, and that was weird. He

was a grown man, but he was a person that when I was frustrated or something,

could go, you know, vent.

These people are driving me crazy.

I know, right?

But that's life.

That's life, Heather.

Danny realized that I was still struggling.

He wanted to help me.

I'm going back to Colombia for a few days.

My mom, she's selling the house, and she's applying for the American

citizenship. She can't really leave the country.

His mom lived here in the States.

She was trying to get her citizenship, and that was the reason she couldn't go

to Colombia.

So she has given me the money, and that's easily enough for two tickets.

So I'm going there anyways.

Would you like to come with me?

Are you serious?

Yeah.

With me?

Yeah. I wanted to escape what had just happened to me.

I needed to step away from reality.

I'd never been out of the country.

It was an opportunity to travel and see something different. I was so excited.

I told my mom I was going to Colombia.

Right away, she said to me, that's the cocaine capital of the world. Why are

going there?

But I wasn't doing anything stupid.

It just made sense.

Danny facilitated the whole entire trip.

We'll be arriving to Bogota first, then over here. I felt safe because he wasn't

scary.

But I later learned that he didn't deserve my trust.

It was Thursday, April 20th, 2006.

Jeremiah knew I was going on a trip.

Hey.

Come here.

Hey.

He said, Mommy, please don't go.

Now, you look after Grandma whilst I'm gone, okay?

I'll only be gone a few days.

I gave him a kiss, and I told him I would see him in a week.

Thank you.

And I left.

Driving from the airport, it just felt like a time warp.

There was no McDonald's. There was no fast food. There was nothing that felt

American.

When we got to his mother's house, we dropped off the suitcase and left.

We were going to go out, see the town, go dancing, and have some fun.

Danny introduced me to his friends, Mateo and Felipe.

Danny and Mateo started talking.

Something's not quite right between them. They seemed bothered, but I didn't

care because I was having fun that night.

Little did I know, this would be the highlight of my vacation from hell.

The next day, it was raining outside, but Danny told me he had some

business that he had to attend to.

So we took a taxi into town.

It wasn't what I expected.

Everywhere.

Military personnel armed with these big guns.

Either they're a lot more violent down here or there's something else that I'm

not aware of.

Danny, why do they keep looking at me? Keep it down. I started to learn that I

really wasn't very safe where I was.

You know, we like Americans in here.

But why?

I don't know. Sometimes it's just kidnapped foreigners.

The next morning, Mateo picked us up.

We

went

for a drive outside of Bogota.

We were on this long country road surrounded by mountains.

Hey, take a look.

Yeah, that is amazing.

As we're driving along, I saw armed police officers signaling to pull

along to the side of the road.

I started to become super nervous.

I

didn't

really understand what was going on, but I just knew something was not right.

I don't know what the officer was looking for, but

Danny and Mateo were uncomfortable.

Their body language felt uneasy.

After he had searched the vehicle, the officer kept looking at

me, looking at my passport.

It was very unnerving.

Gracias. Finally, we were free to go.

Yeah, I told you, everything was going to be fine.

I was having a hard time trying to fight that urge not to be in a bad mood

because I was.

But I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer.

I still wanted to try to make the best of all the little moments.

The next morning, it was very hot.

But I could still sit by the pool and have a drink, and I was okay with that.

Danny seemed nervous, like something was on his mind.

You okay?

You know, I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing here. He was worried.

He was not going to tell me what was going on, but it was almost like he

to. I trusted him, but

he wasn't talking to me.

When I walked back into the house, the trip for me just...

started to unravel.

My

glasses

are on the floor and now they're broke.

I noticed that Danny's suitcase was gone.

Danny, where's your luggage?

Danny, what's going on?

Who was here? How could somebody have been here? What happened?

Come on, Danny.

I don't know. I left my cases to Mateo. He needed them for a trip. That's when

Danny told me Mateo had to make a trip to Medellin.

He must have broken your glasses. He must have knocked them on the ground.

Then I lost it totally.

Danny, I want you to go home now.

Stop whining for once, all right? I'm sick of it. All you do is complain all

time.

I knew he was lying to me.

Something is up.

Little did I know, I was being set up.

That last night, I got all my stuff together.

I packed some souvenirs for Jeremiah.

I got him maracas and a drum painted with the Colombian colors.

But Danny couldn't get ready because he didn't have a suitcase.

And then this man just came and dropped off the suitcase and left.

That was weird.

It was Friday, April 28, 2006.

I felt horrible that morning when I woke up.

Daddy?

I think I'm going to throw up.

Oh, come on, Heather.

I can't think. Wait now. Just keep it together, please.

While we were waiting for the taxi, the same man who came over with the suitcase

showed up at the house.

It all seemed very strange to me.

Don't worry, he's just making sure that we get safe to the airport. That's it.

I was sweating. I was shaking.

I thought I was going to vomit.

Are you okay?

No.

And he just kept saying, what is wrong with you? What is wrong with you?

I realized he was unnerved by how I was feeling.

Once we got to the airport,

I grabbed a couple of paper tags, extra security that you're supposed to put on

your suitcase.

And I started writing my name and my address on the paper tag.

I couldn't wait to get to a bathroom.

I actually really don't feel very well. Can you do this?

I've got to go. I've got to go to the bathroom.

Heather. Sorry.

Heather.

I was sick as a dog.

I was in the bathroom, I think.

For a good 20, maybe 25 minutes.

And then there was no toilet paper.

I went back out to find Danny.

Sorry.

Hey, you okay?

Where's our luggage?

Everybody's suitcases were just sitting here.

And one of the first picked out was mine.

Okay,

go.

Gracias.

Danny's one suitcase was over there, only one. The other one was already

Then all of a sudden, they brought a black dog.

The dog walked around the suitcase, sniffed it, and he sat down.

The officer took out a knife and dabbed his back.

And I immediately saw powder.

What's going on? Everything's going to be fine, okay?

What's going on? Don't worry. What did you do? That's when I think my heart

into my stomach, and I didn't know what was about to happen.

at that moment.

Everything stopped.

All I saw was Danny, this

black dog, and this officer with this powder.

I didn't feel like I could take a breath.

I couldn't move.

I was in complete shock.

Tell me what's going on. What's going on? You're going back home. You're going

back home.

It's okay.

You're going to be fine, okay?

It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine, all right?

It's okay.

They told me that I was going to have to fly home by myself.

I was relieved that I was going home, but I

didn't believe what was happening.

I just wanted to get on that plane, and I just wanted to be back home.

I finally had a moment where I was piecing things together.

I'm going back to Columbia for a few days. Would you like to come with me?

Somebody paying for a trip out of the country.

That should have been a red flag.

Come on, Danny, what's going on? I lent my cases to Mateo. He needed them for a

trip.

You okay?

I just couldn't see it.

Danny was a drug smuggler.

It was about 10 minutes before my flight was supposed to leave.

All of a sudden, this woman

in military uniform was coming for me.

She just kept doing this.

Basically, that means you're... No, no drogas. No, no drogas. I didn't have

any drogas. No, no, no. No, no, no. Please, please. They searched my bag

came in.

They checked my bag when I went to that place. I swear I don't have anything.

She got me back down to where Danny was.

Put their own tag on my case.

It's a stupid mistake.

I'm really sorry.

It's a stupid mistake.

His other suitcase that didn't get searched made it on the plane.

When they pulled it off the airplane, they found drugs in the suitcase also.

And they said that that suitcase was mine.

Because of that little paper tag.

He put that little paper tag on his suitcase and it had my name on it. Did

pack this case by yourself?

No, this isn't mine. This isn't mine. This isn't mine.

Daddy, what have you done?

It didn't matter that none of my belongings were in the suitcase.

Nobody ever cared.

home to my baby.

They drove

us to the

holding cells.

That whole ride, I was so upset and I was so angry.

Danny was trying to reassure me that everything was going to be okay.

Once they'll realize it, we'll let you go.

I promise.

He was just talking out of his ass.

They took us to holding cells.

Danny and I were separated.

I never saw him again.

I just kept...

saying I needed to get home to my son.

How am I going to get home to my son?

I was so terrified.

He didn't have anybody but me.

I did get a visit from the embassy while I was there in those holding cells.

In those initial moments, I believed that I was going home.

My name is Paul Orchard. I'm from the U .S. Embassy.

Great. Thank you. Can I go home now?

Unfortunately, there's not much I can do for you, so you need to prepare

yourself for a lengthy stay.

Are you kidding me?

They kind of told me I was on my own.

This may help you while you're here.

They told me what I needed to say so that I could ask to go to the bathroom

tell them I was hungry.

Tengo hambre. I'm hungry. I need to go to the bathroom. Are you kidding?

Are you kidding?

This is all you can give me.

What they did do, though, they did call my mom and tell her that I was in

prison.

I can't even imagine what that phone call was like for her.

They moved me to the person called Buen Pastor, that translates to

Good Shepherd.

I didn't know what world was waiting for me back there.

There was one big hallway, and off of the hallway were

other wings.

It was kind of chaotic.

I was in a prison where people were there for murdering people

and all kinds of crazy violent things.

Honestly, I was terrified.

As soon as I got through that door, I had to find a way to

survive in there.

When I woke up that first day

My prison cell.

It was my 25th birthday.

I wanted to speak to my son so bad.

I desperately wanted to hear Jeremiah's voice.

The embassy told Mom that I was arrested for trafficking drugs.

That's all she knew.

I know what it must sound like, but, um, no, it never happened, I swear.

How could I explain something that I didn't even understand?

Can I speak to Jeremiah?

Yeah.

Hi, baby. Hi, it's Mom.

Hi. I just remember telling him that I was coming home.

I didn't know when, but I promised that I was coming home.

Oh, Mama misses you so much.

Yeah.

I love you too.

I was exhausted.

I was so hungry.

They brought me a bowl of soup.

It just looked like throw up.

Chicken feet sticking out of it.

I couldn't believe that people ate that.

I was having an incredibly hard time dealing with prison life.

It was violent all the time.

Calling the guard when something like that is happening is very dangerous.

What has just happened to her could easily happen to me.

I was incredibly vulnerable.

I was all alone and terrified.

I had no way to keep myself safe.

It was a nightmare.

I was running on nothing for a very long time

before I finally broke.

I was sitting on the floor coloring a

picture for Jeremiah.

I remember all of a sudden feeling like there were a million bricks on me.

I felt like I was going to die.

I vividly remember waking up in the hospital

with the guard next to me.

The first couple of days, I didn't leave the room.

There was this doctor who spoke English.

Hi.

You had a very bad psychotic episode.

We have a very modern facility here, so we will make it better.

He was going to help me stay there as long as I could so I didn't have to go

back to the prison.

In the hallway, there were

people walking around, clearly mentally ill.

I knew I wasn't sick like these people.

I had a nervous breakdown, but I knew I didn't belong there.

I took a couple days and...

I asked him to send me back because I didn't want to have to do my time there.

I was still very broken when I went back to the prison.

Knowing that Jeremiah was there waiting for me gave me strength.

It motivated me.

No matter what I had to go through, I had to get

back to that little boy.

One day, there was a middle -aged woman who came to visit me.

I had never met her before.

She was Danny's mom.

Her name was Esperanza.

She told me that there was no telling the how.

That was a complete lie.

And now Esperanza.

She wanted to help me.

She told me about her friend that was here in Columbia, Hilda.

If there was anything that I needed to ask Hilda.

Hilda started to come visit me on the weekends.

She was a pastor of the church.

Would you like to pray?

Yeah, sure.

I felt love from that woman the moment she touched me.

Amen. Amen.

She told me she would be there for my court hearing.

I had been there almost six months.

I knew that this was where I was either going to be released or sentenced.

The judge looked at me and

said, if I continue to fight and say that I'm innocent,

that he was going to give me an eight -year sentence, which would be

double. what I would get if I just plead guilty to these charges.

It was an impossible choice.

It was the certainty of my innocence

that kept me alive. How could I deny that?

I was sentenced to 64 months in prison.

This is so unfair!

For a crime I didn't commit.

I was left with no choice.

Because that little boy... He needed me.

And eight years was not an option.

Once I finally got sentenced and I knew exactly what they wanted from me,

it did kind of give me a sense of relief.

There was an end date.

Now I could focus on my survival.

Once the lead killed or brought me care packages, I would have

never survived without them.

But I had to become another level of hard.

If I was going to survive, I had to gain respect.

And I really needed to learn Spanish.

I went and got my Spanish -English dictionary and watched the news.

People started to really get to know me. Hey, you're Heather, right?

I'm Rosa.

Nice to meet you.

I was no longer just one of the Americans.

I found ways to make myself busy.

I learned how to do hair.

And I was in demand.

I wanted to write to Jeremiah to tell him I was fighting for my freedom.

I was petitioning every month, writing a letter, asking for some kind of help to

reduce my sentence.

I had been there almost three years when they told me that my judge was here to

see me.

He told me he would reduce the rest of my sentence to six months.

My heart soared.

And he asked me if I had anybody that I could stay with in Bogota.

He agreed to let me do those six months on house arrest, living with Hilda.

It was November and I was excited because

I was going to have a Thanksgiving to really be thankful for.

I was finally leaving this hellhole.

They drove me to Hilda's house.

I'll never forget that day.

There's no greater prize than freedom.

Tilda was standing outside of the house waiting for me.

I just hugged her and cried.

That night, it was incredible.

There were people out everywhere, and it was lit up, and it was lively.

I didn't have to go back to that place again, and I was so happy

when I had to say goodbye.

That was so hard for me.

She gave me a key.

and told me that this would always be my home.

That woman, she gave me some kind of strength.

It was a Wednesday almost exactly three years since I had

left Pennsylvania.

I was finally on my way home.

When I got to my mom's house, Jeremiah was still at school.

We went to where the school bus dropped Jeremiah.

My nerves were everywhere.

He was the only person who got off.

I finally had him back.

It felt like my heart was breaking again.

But I held him so hard for so long.

It didn't matter.

And although I feel like my soul is scarred, I have a strength

that I never had before.

More than anything, I wanted Jeremiah to have a family.

Timothy told me he was going to marry me on our second date, and I thought he

was crazy.

We have had two daughters together.

Jeremiah is an amazing big brother.

He is 18 now. He's graduated high school.

is the light of my life.