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tv   Locked Up Abroad  MSNBC  December 13, 2015 6:00pm-7:01pm PST

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in 1990, saddam invaded kuwait. >> we had to get out of iraq. at that moment, the nightmare really started. >> we have to head back. >> no, tom. >> we were in a very, very dangerous situation. >> where are you taking us? this place was hell on earth. >> we were incredibly scared. if they wanted to kill you, they killed you and nobody said a
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word. >> what are you doing? >> we had no idea whether we were going to come out of this alive. >> i went in iraq in may 1990. i was 26 years old. i had been in a 12-month contract with a gas and oil contract. the money looked good, so i decided to take up the option. it was an exciting opportunity for a young lad, to go to a part of the world which most people didn't know about. i was looking forward to it in a big way. the oil field was 15 miles west
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of saddam's hometown, and it was the arabic for saddam's oil field. it didn't cause alarm. we felt we were just working on something important. the living quarters were within the compound area. everything was self-contained within that site. my immediate partner on the project was another irishman, ten years older than me. his name was john white. we formed a good relationship from the beginning. >> how was your flight? >> great. >> i thought tom was a fantastic guy. he was so full of life, so exuberant. we got on very well straightaway. >> we have good people here. i'm going to show you around. >> yeah, that'd be great. >> tom was one of the 15 engineers i had under my
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control, and able to caulk talk to me because of the experience in the area. >> i knew about the lay of the land, or so i thought. >> all things were going splendid. >> which one is it? >> my two weeks were coming up. i was really looking forward to getting back to ireland to see my children, wife. i was very excited about that. at that particular point, there was nothing on the horizon to suggest that i wouldn't make it home. that morning, turned on my radio. heard the news that saddam had invaded kuwait. we heard that they were pulling families out of homes, raping women. there were masked killings. the reports from kuwait were
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shocking. absolutely shocking. >> very quickly, the west was making threats against iraq, and we realized we were in a dangerous situation. >> we were now in the middle of what was shaping up to be a full scale war. >> my whole desire was to get out of there and to get back to my family in ireland. >> it's me. >> my wife said, saddam put a block on all westerners, in and out of the country. it hit home like a thunderbolt. she said, we were going to be used as human shields.
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>> realization dawned that we were already on a site of importance. we were on saddam's oil field. it was nerve racking to consider we were going to be in the line of fire. so i knew that we needed to take some drastic action, or else, i wasn't sure what was going to become of us. very soon, a group of us started to plan for the escape. >> you all right? okay, guys. we know why we're here. >> we knew the only way out would be a land acrocrossing to of the countries that bordered iraq. we split into teams of two or three. >> what do you think of you and michael heading to turkey? >> if a team discovered there was a way out, the team would return to the site and a larger group would make the attempt to escape. but there were risks.
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we knew if they discovered what we were up to, we would be lifted immediately by iraqi security. these seemed more manageable than sitting and waiting for the bombing to happen. the next few days, the teams went out to the various border trips. one by one, they went out and, one by one, they came back. >> any luck? >> no. military everywhere. >> soldiers were to be seen everywhere. checkpoints along the main roads every 20 or 30 miles. >> it was beginning to look like our situation was really hopeless. the determination was there, to continue to try. >> what do you reckon? >> well, can't go on the main roads. >> we had to look at some of the more difficult options. then i decided that rather than use the main road approach, we
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would drive north to a small town and head west and have a look at the 120 miles of desert which separated us from the syrian border. we knew there were big, big risks in trying to get across this inhospitable desert. our plan was to penetrate 15, 20 kilometers and see if the vehicle could get through, and come back to report to the rest of the team. >> let's hope this works. >> has to. >> i had no understanding that john might deviate from the plan. that morning, we set out at 7:00 a.m. on the reconnaissance mission. >> there was a great sense of adventure. a great sense of hope. >> john seemed excited about this trip. if there was this option to get out, he'd be home with his family pretty soon. that's, after all, what he
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wanted. back in ireland, i'd been part of the reserve defense forces. to get us through the desert, i made a makeshift compass. i knew it was going to be somewhat important, but i didn't understand at the time how important that compass was going to be. as we were driving north, our only concern was military would stop us and, if they did, what would be the outcome. but we were getting more and more hopeful. this was starting to look easy. then we hit our first problem. >> in the distance, we could see this much larger checkpoint. all the soldiers had their kalashnikovs on their shoulders. there were even officers present. it was our first moment of concern.
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>> we pulled up and the senior officer started asking us questions. very basic english. as to where we were going. >> i don't understand. >> where you go? >> he started barking and shouting. all of a sudden, there was a commotion around the back of the vehicle. the iraqi soldier jumped in with an ak-47. all of a sudden, we were waved on through the checkpoint, not sure of what was happening. >> why is he in the car? >> go, go. >> now we were in the middle of iraq, on a reconnaissance mission, which we shouldn't have been doing, with an iraqi soldier. >> who is this guy? >> what do you think this fella is in here for? >> we discussed turning around,
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but we knew we couldn't. we had to carry on, but we didn't know what to do when we got to the village with this soldier in the back. shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. breathe right
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we were now in a limbo situation. armed soldier in the back, not knowing what he was doing there. >> we were driving along, and then the guy started roaring and shouting. we had no idea what he wanted us to do now, so we stopped the vehicle. >> okay, okay, okay. all right, all right, all right. >> all of a sudden, he ran around to the side of our vehicle. >> yeah? >> it turned out, he was simply riding a lift with us into the
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city. >> there was a great sense of relief amongst tom and i. >> we could now make this evaluation that we set out to do. at the edge of the city, there was this vast, inhospitable desert. we knew there was nothing there between us and syria, for at least 150 miles. we knew there were going to be vast challenges in getting across it. but i also understood that we were only going out 15 kilometers and then we would report back to the rest of the team.
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>> this is it then? >> yup. let's go. >> the first five kilometers or so went according to plan. the surface was pretty flat and my roughly made compass was giving us the right way we should be heading. then we came across our first problem in that desert. >> we came upon these vast dunes and craters, which we couldn't drive through. >> i knew this was going to be a concern, but i was convinced we could get around them without getting lost. >> keep left. >> i know. i know. >> after 15 kilometers, we had achieved exactly what we set out to do. we knew we were going to be pushed left and right by these
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riverbeds, but it looked like there was a way out to the syrian border. so i said to john -- >> about time we head back. we've done what we set out to do. >> john's response was very, very strange. >> going to take it a little further, check it out a little bit more. >> we said 15 kilometers was the cut off point, john. >> we're going to go a little further, tom, all right? >> we kept going and i was wondering, why he was saying we'd go a little more and a little more. we'd accomplished what we set out to do. i felt i wasn't having my proper say in this. i think i understood better than he did the implications. i was watching the fuel gauge very, very closely. >> john, we have to head back. we're about to go past the point of no return. >> no, i'm going to keep going. >> there were so many reasons why we shouldn't keep going. >> we have one bottle of water between the two of us. we're not prepared. >> keep going. >> for god's sake, john!
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>> in the end, i had to play what i thought was the trump card. i thougsaid our responsibilitie with the people back at site. >> they're expecting us to go back with news of whether we can go or not. >> i was going to continue until the last drop was gone out of the tank. then i was in syria. i wanted more than anything to get home to see my family. at the expense of tom and the other guys i left behind. just consumed. >> i was not happy about this, but there was no chance of going back anymore. we couldn't have made it back. this point of no return had been exceeded. i resigned myself to it, and i decided to get us to where we were meant to be going.
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but it was a very scary time. it was absolutely nothing in that desert to indicate whether we were on the right track or not. at one stage, we were doing such large sweeps left and right, that i was seriously doubting whether we were going around in circles or not. we had less than a quarter tank left. so we turned off the air-conditioning to reduce the amount of fuel consumption. even though the outside temperature had reached nearly 50 degrees celsius. we had about half a bottle of water left, and i knew either fuel running out or water running out, or a combination or both, was very, very likely to kill us here. >> the situation at that particular moment was grim.
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i knew i had made the wrong decision. and i became incredibly worried. it seemed like all our hopes were shattered. >> all of a sudden, we saw telegraph poles. i don't think i fully believed it. it meant someone was out there. >> look over there! >> i see it. i see it. i see it. ha, ha! >> suddenly, we saw in front of us, a tarmac road. i was elated. i can't describe to you the feeling. i felt vindicated that i had
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pushed on. i honestly believed that we had made it to syria. then we had to make a decision whether to go right or left. >> left? >> we're driving down the road, and there was a great sense of achievement between tom and myself. i was really convinced that we had made it. completely convinced. and then, sudsuddenly, we saw ii flags. we were devastated. absolutely crushed. i felt, obviously, all of that was for absolutely nothing.
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>> suddenly, we noticed military vehicles were coming at us at great speed. >> we realized we're in a highly sensitive militarized area. we wanted to turn around quickly and drive away from them. but they had already seen us. >> it was at that moment the nightmare really started. spreadt may not know they have it. it's called whooping cough. and the cdc recommends everyone, including those around babies, make sure their whooping cough vaccination is up to date. understand the danger your new grandchild faces. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about you and your family getting a whooping cough vaccination today.
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tom, what the hell is that? >> the iraqi military vehicles were coming at us with speed through the desert. >> it was abundantly clear we were in a very, very serious situation. we knew this would take a lot of getting out of. >> the military vehicles pulled up around us. lots of soldiers surrounded us pointing ak-47s at us. they were all very excited and clambering and shoving. there was a huge amount of
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uncertainty there. were they going to just discharge weapons at us in excitement? a few moments later, a captain came to the front of the iraqi group. >> we don't understand. >> oh, you speak english? >> yes. >> so what are you doing here? >> we told them we'd be at the city looking at the archaeological ruins and we got lost in the desert. >> lost? >> yeah. >> yes. >> hatra is here, and we are here. a long way, no? >> he obviously didn't believe us. this guy was too intelligent not to know what was happening. we knew our number was up then.
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>> we had no idea where we were going or where we were to be taken. after hours of drivindriving, w to a large military installation. >> we were brought into this dining hall area. the whole table was laid out for dinner. then tom and i had to sit there and have dinner with them. >> people looking very, very strangely at us and started talking and laughing. something was seriously wrong. >> suddenly, everything took a very, very serious turn for the worse.
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there was a complete air of coldness about them. it felt like the temperature of that air dropped by ten degrees. >> i recognized him as the iraqi secret police. the iraqi people were terrified of these people because of their ruthlessness. they torture people. they kill people. they are the most terrifying people in the world. >> they moved us very quickly out of that room. there was no delay in anything they did. complete knot in our stomachs developed. >> where are you taking us? >> the anxiety was beginning to escalate because we were now in an entirely different situation.
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>> we pulled up outside a plush hotel in the middle of baghdad. i had no idea why i was arriving there. >> they brought us into the lobby where quite a substantial amount of other western expats were. >> in secret, we were able to speak with a few of the westerners. >> what are they using this place for? >> every time more people come, more people go. >> go where?
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>> we are being used as human shields. >> i don't think we could believe it. we had attempted to find ways out of iraq, and we are now going to be put right in the firing lane we tried to avoid. >> it was a pretty frightening prospect. >> we were whisked upstairs pretty quickly. >> this was a very, very heavily guarded area. we were brought down to the very end room, and they closed the door behind us. i was angry toward john for getting us into this situation. i thought that maybe there was a way out of this.
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in the on suite, there was a phone. >> john? >> this was absolutely fantastic because we knew as electrical engineers, once the dial tone was there, we could make the call. >> the phone had no dial plate on the front, but you could overcome it by tapping the top of the telephone. i tried tapping the irish embassy number. i could hear the phone attempting to make the connection. i was completely surprised to hear the phone was picked up by the embassy staff. >> it was a hurried conversation. i didn't want to hold that line open. i urged the ambassador to come as quickly as possible. the minute we got dispatched to some vital installation, it
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would have been hard to track us down again. i stayed on about a minute and a half, maximum. >> the police guys came in. we didn't know what was happening. >> had they detective edetected on the phone? was it in for serious trouble as a result? were we being take tonton -- ta to a vital installation? we didn't know. the first thing i saw was the first council was there. it was a fantastic feeling. >> this is john. >> it was a float of relief. >> have a seat. >> it gave us renewed hope that, very, very soon, or ordeal was going to end. >> boy, are we glad to see you.
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>> we blurted out our story. >> went to the desert to explore a little bit and got lost. they picked us up and brought us here. we asked him to intervene, to stop us being sent out to vital installations. >> i have a young family. i need to get to them. >> there was no optimism in what he was saying. >> you're in a foreign country, caught where you shouldn't have been, we're doing everything we can. >> what does that mean? i have a daughter. >> mr. lynch, we're doing the best we can. >> it was obvious it wasn't within his power to do anything. we were not going to be released. there was no negotiation, and we were back to the same situation. he gave us money, passports, and we were taken out of the room. >> suddenly, there was an order brought out by one of the senior policemen. the men were being taken by
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military. they were to be used as human shields. it left the wives and the children crying and screaming. they had no idea if they were ever going to see their men again. we knew for sure we were going to get on one of the busses. that was why we were there. it really seemed that i would never see my family again. if you had a dollar for every dollar car insurance companies say they'll save you by switching,
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now, back to locked up aboard. all of a sudden, we were rushed out the door and moved down the corridor very, very fast. we felt that we were being moved on to strategic locations as human shields. it was unbearable. >> the secret police brought us out the back door of the hotel, and we were bundled quickly into an awaiting vehicle. and to my horror, i could see that the irish diplomatic car was being held up at the security gates. it became clear that was the reason for our urgent departure. >> look, look, look. they clearly didn't want the two of us to meet us again.
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that link with the outside world was being taken from us yet again. it just heightened the sense of danger. the fact that they clearly could not accept the embassy knowing where we were going. >> we were moved to a very, very bleak building in the city of baghdad. we had no idea what were we doing there. >> we were pushed into a place which was as far as you can possibly imagine from the hotel we'd just come from. >> suddenly, we were encased in a sea of bodies, all shouting, screaming, trying to figure out who we were, what we were. it was a frightening,
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frightening experience. >> we were quickly guided to one of these dugouts in the side of the wall. i realized that we were now in a prison-type environment. it looked like we were going to be dealt with as part of the criminal system. why else would we be there? we didn't know what the charges were going to be. we had no idea of what penalty was being sought. it was a pretty frightening situation to comprehend. >> later that night, there was a blast of automatic gunfire. we were sure it was a firing squad. >> we asked ourselves, were we next? we knew the system managed to successfully remove us from any kind of contact with the outside world. it would be easy to do away with us. it was at this time that john rapidly went downwards.
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he just lost it. he retreated into himself. >> i felt we wouldn't make it. i had -- i had almost, almost withdra withdrawn and given up hope. >> the more john's head dropped and the more he lost a sense of purpose, the more i pushed myself to look for some solution, some route out. i started to explore all the various different dens and cubbyholes within the koum poco. one was a small toilet area with a slit window up high.
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so i decided to see if it did, indeed, represent a way of escape out from where we were. i started widening it. using my fingers, i made some little bit of an impact on it, but not enough. imana a iman -- i managed to pry out some of the brick, which became a tool, so i was able to make more progress. suddenly, i heard footsteps coming. i was in a very dangerous situation. if i was found doing what i was doing, i would be next in the firing line. i had to make believe as if i was using the toilet facilities. the reality was, as much as i wanted to get out of that place,
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it just wasn't going to work. but i didn't resign myself at all after that. one option had failed. i'd wait and see what the next option might be. >> we were fully expecting to wait in the detention center, and that was to be our fate. but after five days, the guard came for us. >> for one moment, i felt that, just maybe, we were actually being released. just maybe i would get to see my family again. >> but they were waiting for us with two more agents. >> here we were again, back in the arms of the secret police. i was absolutely certain our situation was going to get worse. but they brought us to an
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infamous prison in the center of baghdad. when i realized this is where we were, i almost had a heart attack. it was a notorious interrogation center, where the secret police weren't governed by any law. they were the law. if they decided they were going to torture you, they tortured you. if they decided to kill you, they'd kill you. nobody said a word to them. >> we were led into the depths of this prison down long corridors. the atmosphere was getting thicker and more dense. we heard screams of pain. finally, they came to the end of a corridor. they thrust us both in and closed the door behind us. >> why are we doing?
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what are we doing? >> needless to say, we were incredibly scared. later that night, we heard this incredible commotion. screams and shouts. and dragging of people around the corridor outside. we shouted out, tried to look out. it was a very small little opening in the door. we could actually see it a little up the corridor. it just heightened our sense of fear. as if it wasn't high enough already. emotionally, to hear another human being being tortured, it is mind ruining. >> we had to consider that we were next. why else would we be there? >> we were seriously concerned for our lives. never in my life will i forget it. i can still hear the screams.
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like they're just happening outside the door right now. aw. ♪ thirsty? they said it would make me cool. they don't sound cool to me. guess not. you got to stick up for yourself, like with the name your price tool. people tell us their budget, not the other way around. aren't you lactose intolerant? this isn't lactose. it's milk. ♪
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the next morning, they opened the door to lead us out down to the toilet area. >> there was a long, long corridor that we had to walk down. i noticed from the corner of my eye, something hanging. i looked away because i didn't understand what it was. then i was able to look back.
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i stood transfixed. there were two iraqis hanging by their arms. their whole chests were completely open in circular lines where, obviously, someone had whipped them. it was a dreadful, dreadful sight. tom was completely freaked. he really was so, so afraid. so scared. he was quite uncontrollable. >> i felt complete abhorrence that anyone could do this to someone else. the desire overcame me to get the people who did this and tear their eyes out. it was the most overwhelming and draining series of emotions i've
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ever had. finally, they moved us. finally they moved us. we were put onto this prison bus. as we sped out the front gates, suddenly a mean-looking guy came into the back shouting and roaring loudly at the top ofçó s voice.ñr he blocked all the ventilation hatches in the roof. now effectively, we were in a steam coffin with no airñr gettg
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in. the internal air temperature started rising and rising and rising. temperatures were probably around 50 degrees. it was becoming extremely hardç to take each other. i believe there was a very strong chance that people were going to suffocate in here. i was getting very angry. here was another sadistic iraqi causing direct hurt and injury to someone. i noticed that she whe was carra pistol, very clearly on his right hip, and i was so angry, and so furious, i wanted to jump up and grab the gun. but was i going to be able to ññ will i manage to cock it in time? and even if i could, would you
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do what you're supposed to do with a pistol?ñr that was to pull the trigger. i decided not to go ahead with it. and i felt guilty with myself for several hours for not going ahead with it. finally we arrived at a police ba base. we were taken off to a small room, and there, sitting in the room, was the first counsel. >> we were thrilled to see him, but we were also incredibly intrigued as to why had contact been re-established. the reasonptq he was there was to inform us that we were going
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to trial. >> the charge was being in an area prohibited by military law. this charge was an ealtion that we had been spying and that carried with a charsentence of years. >> i'm afraid there's very little the embassy can do at this point. >> it was a shocking moment to realize after all we'd been through, it was down to a court case. we knew in our heart and soul that we were going to be found guilty. and we knew that in itself was a death sentence. leep like that? well, just put on a breathe right strip and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than cold medicine alone. so you can breathe and sleep. shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. breathe right
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say they'll save youfor every by switching,surance companies you'd have like a ton of dollars. but how are they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um..." or "no comment". then there's esurance - born online, raised by technology and majors in efficiency. so whatever they save, you save:
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hassle, time, paper work, hair tearing out and, yes, especially dollars. that's auto and home insurance for the modern world. esurance. backed by allstate. click or call. i tried depend last weekend. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. only depend underwear has new confidence core technology for fast absorption and the smooth, comfortable fit of fit-flex™ protection. get a coupon at depend.com narrthe holidays can be of an especially difficult time. sometimes i feel all alone. christmas used to be my favorite. everything's different now. i just don't expect anything. what if santa can't find me? narrator: to help, sleep train is holding a secret santa toy drive. bring your gift to any sleep train, and help keep the spirit of the holidays alive. not everyone can be a foster parent... but anyone can help a foster child.
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>> finally, we were given a definite day for the trial. we now knew that it was going to be in three days' time. they were three of the longest days in my entireñi life. i knew thatñr where i was, was direct result of decisions that were imposed upon me by john.
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so i had to work at keeping the resentçó and the blame out of t equation. there was enough other emotions in my life at that point. there just wasn't room for those ones as well.ñiñi >> after the trial, we sat in our cell. nobody was letting us know whether we were guildy or not guilty. >> it was a pretty bad time mentally for both of us. >> finally, one of the girls came and called for john andñi . he indicated take your bag. we were completely deflated. we thought we were being moved somewhere for 18 years. we asked him several ñyimes, which particular prison it was.
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>> which prison? >> and he said, you are free, you are free. >> free, free, free. >> i don't think we could believe it. it was just immense. somebody was at last telling us we're finally free. we were taken out and there standing in front of us was the suv that we had used to get across the desert. the first counsel was waiting there for us. >> is it true? are we free? >> he said, you were found not guilty and you've been released. >> as we left, it was an overpowering feeling. tom and i were shouting and
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roaring inside the vehicle. [ laughter ] just incredibly relieved to have gotten ourselves out of that situation. to his credit, he never in any way blamed me for the situation that we found ourselves in. could have and should have. but he kept his counsel. >> his decision to carry on caused me extreme hardship, however, it doesn't cause me any bitterness, and it doesn't cause me any resent. what happened happened and we both got through it. >> my family wereçó waiting fori in dublin. it was fantastic. it was just wonderful. all that madness was finally
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behind me. you k home. it was good to be back. ♪ >> he said, you're not going to walk out of here alive, unless you tell me where those drugs are. >> i did 500 doses of lsd.

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