Aunt Sandy's Redemption

Grant Regillo

Mr. O’Brien

D Block

October 23, 2013

Aunt Sandy’s Redemption

On October 23rd, 1993, my aunt Sandy was arrested for murder in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Sandy was a banker for Wells Fargo and had been married for 6 years to her husband, Phillip.  Phillip was in the midst of an affair when he was killed in a house robbery. Because of the affair, the motive suggested that my aunt Sandy was guilty; but she had nothing to do with the murder. Despite the truth, Sandy was sentenced to life in prison. In prison, Sandy began to help the warden and the employees of the jail with their finances with her banking knowledge and experience. Sandy provided free tax assistance and the knowledge to help the bank and warden profit immensely. Sandy was also in charge of the library and was persistent in acquiring volumes of books for the prison library. Every day she would send a letter to the state, asking for more books and resources for the prison. During her time in prison, Sandy spent time crafting little rock figurines with a small pick and strolling around the prison yard. On June 3^rd, after 7 years in prison, Sandy missed the morning role-call and the warden and other prison guards flocked to her cell. When they opened the door she was gone, leaving no sign of exit. Only after pulling down Sandy's favorite poster did the warden discover a tunnel carved through the wall of the jail cell. My aunt Sandy had carved through the wall of the jail and escaped from prison by crawling through 1 mile of sewage pipe. The tunnel was carved with a miniature pick (one that might fit in say a bible?) used to carve the small figurines.  Aunt Sandy had also been planning for her life outside of prison while she was still incarcerated, secretly creating an alternate person who she assumed when she had escaped. Sandy used her ties and connection with the warden to move the money that the prison had earned through labor programs to her own account. Sandy not only freed herself from prison but also helped to expose the corruption that plagued the prison for years.  As a repercussion of the corruption, the warden and many other prison guards were arrested for their treatment of the prisoners. No member of my family has spoken to Sandy since her daring escape and had only learned of the story after a news article published her story. Many people believe that she lives somewhere in Mexico or Latin America but every attempt to find her has been unsuccessful.