Life After Death: The Shocking True Story of a Innocent Man on Death Row

on the patio and I explained for the third and final time where I’d been. Brian was more amazed than I expected him to be, because he had thought I was still around and had simply dropped out of sight for a while. He found the entire story to be very amusing and laughed as if my misfortunes were the epitome of stupidity and hilarity. He asked questions when he wanted me to clarify certain points, all the while staring at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
    Brian had a plan that was both simple and ingenious—I would stay with him, but we would tell no one. As long as his mother didn’t know I was living in the house, she could not object to it. I was impressed with his logic. After much pleading and cajoling, we persuaded his brother to drive to Domini’s and pick up my suitcase.
    The weekend was a flurry of excitement because I was so happy to be back and around the people I knew. We talked about what I’d missed, drove around Memphis like old times, got reacquainted with people I’d forgotten about, and generally enjoyed ourselves. I slept on Brian’s floor Saturday and Sunday night, and on Monday morning I went with him to school.
    Attempting to reenroll in school turned out to be one more thing on a long list of disappointments. The principal informed me that I needed a parent present to sign me up because I was not yet eighteen years old. I explained that this would be impossible as both of my parents were now living on the other side of the country. He suggested that I consider getting a GED instead. I found the idea to be distasteful, but I could see that I was making no progress in pleading my case. Dejected, I returned to Brian’s house, where I ordered a pizza and watched television for the rest of the day.
    When Brian returned home from school, I told him what had happened and we put our heads together to form a solution. In the end, the conclusion we came to was to see if the school would allow his mother to enroll me. She didn’t know I was actually staying with them, but we did get along well. We never had a chance to test this plan, and school would soon be the least of my worries. The very next day would find me back in jail.
    Tuesday morning, Brian got up and followed his usual routine of preparing for school. I was jealous that he got to go and I did not. I loved going to school; I just didn’t like doing the work. I always thought school was more fun than a carnival. Everyone I knew was going to be there, so the day would be impossibly boring for me during school hours.
    Brian left and I settled in for another long day of watching television. When lunchtime came I ordered another pizza. I knew I couldn’t eat the food in the house, or Brian’s mom would become suspicious. I was pretty sure I could live on pizza until my money ran out, but then I’d have to think of something else.
    Twenty minutes after I placed my daily pizza order, there was a knock at the front door. Thinking that my provisions had arrived, I opened the door to discover Jerry Driver and one of his two cronies. Driver was trying his best to look official; he wore a pair of mirrored sunglasses stretched across his rotund face. His partner was a skinny black man who would one day meet the wrong end of a shotgun after sleeping with another man’s wife.
    “I’m here to arrest you,” Driver wheezed.
    This was quite a shock to me, as the only crime I had committed was not being in school, and that was not for lack of trying. “For what?” I asked him.
    He began stuttering as if my question had caught him off guard. His jowls quivered as he managed to insult my intelligence with the crime of being under the age of eighteen and not living in the household with my parents. I seriously doubted his assertion that this was a criminal offense, but once again, I simply didn’t understand that Driver was operating outside his jurisdiction, and I didn’t know my rights. I was put in chains and shackles like a convict while Driver ushered me back to the Crittenden jail.
    This time Driver’s questions became even more bizarre and outrageous. I was taken into a small office and chained to a chair, while he and the black guy tried to entice me to read texts to them that were written in Latin. He showed me odd objects that I’d never seen before, such as glass pyramids and silver rings with strange designs. He wanted me to explain the significance of these items to him. I had not the slightest clue what any of