Michael Vander Horst still recalls the sound of rain on the roof of his Chevy Cavalier, the night of his crime years ago. The night of the burglary that changed everything. The car was stuck in the mud, and the passenger’s seat was empty. Will, his partner in crime, stood across the driveway, pointing a pistol at the young couple who had just returned home.
No one was physically hurt that night, but life as Michael knew it was over. After a brief time on the run, Michael spent months in county jail and finally ratted out Will in a plea deal. To Michael, it was all a blur. At the drop of the judge's gavel, he received a sentence of 13 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections.
I was not prepared for maximum security prison. When the metal cell door clanged behind me, I was locked in with a complete stranger, in a room the size of a broom closet, for 21 hours a day. There was no TV or radio to distract me. … For long hours of the day, I lay stretched out on my bunk, thinking about my life and how I got here.
