Chapter 2: A Surprise

I got a surprise visitor later that summer. Calvin McDermott arrived to talk with me before Mom and Sis came in.

"I don't want you to get too excited, Ruel," he began, "but I think I have a good chance of getting you out of here."

I tried not to react, but it was hard. "How?"

"I'm collecting evidence that the sheriff and the prosecutor conspired to have you convicted. The sheriff interviewed each of the witnesses that testified against you, and virtually put words into their mouths. He painted a picture of you being a suspect in a number of sexual assaults and that you might have even been involved in a murder in Grand Island. He told the witnesses that it would be in the best interests of the safety of the good citizens of Sherman County that you be put away for a long time."

"Can you prove this?" I asked, astounded at what the sheriff had done.

"I'm in the process of gathering sworn statements from these people, promising them that they wouldn't be named until I had a grant of immunity from disclosure. I'd like to see them all go to jail for what they did to you."

"What's going to happen?"

"I'm going to the state attorney general offices in Lincoln and meet with them next week. I'll present them with the evidence and insist that they follow up. It's an election year and no one wants this kind of black mark on their record when it comes time to count the votes."

"What if they agree? What happens then?" I asked.

"I will write an appeal to the state supreme court, detailing the corrupt actions of the sheriff and naming the prosecutor as a co-conspirator, to have your conviction set aside. At worst, I'll demand a retrial. I'm getting more and more certain that we are going to get you out of here, Ruel."

I took a deep breath. This was almost more than I could handle. I had given up hope that Calvin or anyone else would be able to right the wrong that was done to me. Now, it seemed like there was some hope.

"How long?" I asked, almost fearful of the answer.

"It won't be soon, Ruel. It will take a few weeks, probably. Maybe a few months. But I'm now more certain that you won't be spending the next nine years here.

I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. I was dizzy with the news.

"Do my mom and sister know about this?"

"They're waiting to see you now. I told them about it just before I came in here. I wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't fairly certain we're going to be successful with this."

"Those people who lied about me in court. They're going to get away with it?"

"No. I've promised to bargain for immunity from disclosure. I didn't guarantee anything and I didn't say anything about perjury," he smiled. "No one is going to get away with anything."

"And when I'm out, will I have a criminal record?"

"No, absolutely not. You will be pardoned and your record expunged. I'll insist on that."

"I'm almost afraid to hope, Calvin. I had given up the idea that I would be out of here any time soon. I even thought about suicide in the early days. I'm over that now, but if this fails ... well ... I don't know."

"Don't talk like that, Ruel. I'm not going to rest until you are a free man. We're close now. Stay strong. I want to be there when you walk out of here and get on with your life."

Calvin McDermott was in his forties. He wasn't very tall, perhaps five-eight, but he was lean and very orderly in his appearance. He gave me a feeling of confidence when he spoke. But then, he gave me that feeling during the trial, too.

I closed my eyes once more and nodded. "Thank you, Calvin. I've put my faith in you and you haven't deserted me. Thank you."

Mom and Sis came in just after Calvin left and, for a change, they were all smiles.

"Calvin told you the news?" Mom gushed.

"Yeah. He told me. I'm almost afraid to believe it. These next few months are going to seem like years."

"Calvin said you won't have a criminal record. That means you can go anywhere and do anything," Sis said.

I nodded. "Yeah. I've got some time to think about what I want to do. But I already know the first thing I want to do."

"What's that?" Mom asked.

"Pack up you and Sis and get the hell out of Hazard. When I think of how those people have been treating you, I don't want you having anything to do with them. You should start thinking about where you would want to go, Mom. Somewhere a young woman like you can start over and get a new, better life. You too, Sis."

"I think you're right, Ruel," Mom agreed. "I don't think we'll ever be happy in Sherman County again. I do have an idea, but I need to talk to someone first."

"Good," I smiled again. It felt good to be able to smile once more and mean it. I just hoped that Calvin's plan wasn't going to be a pipe dream. I didn't know how any of the four of us could handle that kind of disappointment.

Calvin was right. It was a painfully slow process to get the state attorney's department to act and look into our accusations. They sent out an independent investigator to talk to all the people who had given depositions about the sheriff's coercions. It didn't take long to determine that Sheriff Rolland Biggs had perverted the course of justice and poisoned the witnesses with his lies. The state office swore out a warrant for his arrest and it was made public ten days before the election that had been considered a shoo-in for him.

The sheriff quickly saw that he was in deep trouble and, in an attempt to cut a deal, began to tell the investigators just what role of the state-appointed prosecutor had in the whole affair. As a capper to the proceedings, the witnesses were also charged with uttering false statements. It was a lesser charge than perjury, but still carried a stiff penalty. It was the only break the state was willing to give them.

Calvin wasn't finished, however. While the state attorney's office presented the case to the Attorney General's Office, Calvin was preparing a civil suit against Sherman County and the individuals who had testified against me at the trial. I think this might have been Calvin's finest hour. He earned my undying respect. He had never stopped believing in me and trying to right a serious wrong.

On September 18, 1993, I was taken from my cell and walked to the warden's office. Calvin McDermott, my mother and sister were present. I was handed a full pardon and a letter from the State of Nebraska indicating their regret at my false imprisonment due to perjured testimony. I was free. I had spent 653 days behind bars for a crime I did not commit. It was going on three years since Sheriff Rolland Biggs had banged on our door and arrested me on suspicion of murder. At last, my nightmare was over.

There were a lot of tears shed by my mother and sister and me when I took the pardon from the representative of the state. I hugged Calvin tightly in thanks for his untiring effort on my behalf. We owed him a lot ... much more than we could pay. That never entered into his considerations. He was in this to get justice for me, not for the money. However, if the civil suits against the county and the perjured witnesses were settled, we would be able to reward him for all his work.

Those civil suits were settled out of court reasonably quickly after the pardon was issued. It was early December when Calvin brought us the proposed settlement offered by the county. Hazard was a small town and didn't have the resources to pay a multi-million dollar settlement. We knew that, but the county was a different matter. They were responsible for the sheriff's department and the local court and that made the pot somewhat bigger. In the end, we agreed to 2.5 million dollars to settle all claims. I gave one million to my mother and sister, and $500,000 to Calvin McDermott. It seemed like the right thing to do.

My mother was shocked at my decision, but I told her that she and Sis needed it to find a new home and a new life. As it was, both had decided to move to Pueblo, Colorado where a cousin of Mom's lived. For my part, I was enlisting in the army. I wanted to learn a trade and I wanted to get away from Hazard and Nebraska with all the bad memories it held. The best way for me was to find a place to work off my aggression and anger. I chose the army. The money I kept from the settlement would go into an investment fund that Calvin recommended. It would give me something when I was done with the service. Mom had the freedom to do anything and go anywhere she wanted to. She'd earned every penny of it.

I enlisted in Omaha and was sent to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. It was located about eighty miles northeast of Springfield, too damn close to Nebraska for my liking. I was there for sixteen weeks of basic training. I couldn't get over the whining and complaining from most of the recruits at how hard it was. Maybe a couple of years in prison would change their mind. I was grateful for the physical fitness work I had done and it helped me get through the training without problems.

I always thought I was a good shot with a rifle, but the army taught me that I was only an average shot. With the help of my sergeant, I got better. A lot better. When I received my marksman patch, I was really proud of myself.

At first, I didn't make a lot of friends in basic. It was a little later on when we started to go off base down to Springfield for some entertainment and fun that I began to be a little more sociable. For most of my life I'd been a loner ... and that included prison. Now, I was in with a big group of men, most of whom were about my age. They were a lot more experienced than I was and a few of them set out to improve my social skills. That included beer and women.