Ep 10 | Dewayne Taylor Transcript

Voices of a Killer Podcast Ep 10 | DeWayne Taylor 

Transcript

Before we begin this podcast, please be advised that the following episode contains language that some listeners may find offensive and inappropriate. The opinions expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not reflect the views of the podcast. Producers, listener discretion is advised. Why do they think that you did those six murders?

No, I didn't have a gun. Nope. And I'm the only one that got arrested. I'm the only one that did time for the charge. I just did, took it on the chin. I started selling drugs at eight years old. Uh, the first time I got arrested was 10 years old for stolen car. Dwayne, it's my understanding that you actually committed a crime that put you in prison at the age of 15.

And I was put in a cell with a guy like 50 some years old, and soon they said that the captain has punched me in my face and when he punched me in my face, I hit the floor. But it didn't really hurt, but it, I played like I was knocked out and they told me to get my beat ass up, right. You are now listening to the podcast voices of a Killer.

I'm bringing you the stories from the perspective of the people that have taken the life of another human and their current situation thereafter in prison. You'll see that although these are the folks that we have been programmed to hate, they all have something in common. They are all humans like us that admit that they made a mistake.

Will you forgive them or will you condemn them? They're currently serving time for their murders, and they give us an. Inside glimpse of what took place when they killed and their feelings on the matter. Now, here are the voices of those who have killed.

In this episode of Voices of a Killer, we delve into the captivating and troubled life of Dwayne Taylor from his early involvement with gangs to his conviction as a juvenile in his alleged involvement in six other murders. Dwayne's story is one that sheds light on the challenging realities of growing up in a violent neighborhood in St.

Louis, Missouri. Dwayne's story is one of the more unique ones on this podcast. You can truly say that he has had his whole life shaped by the justice system initially convicted of a tragic murder in 1994, at the age of 15, and now almost 30 years later, we have the opportunity to hear his. Side of the story as he reaches out to us from prison.

Join us as we explore the untold aspects of Dwayne Taylor's life. Delving into the events that shaped him, his struggles, and the ongoing battle he faces from behind bars. Brace yourself for a gripping narrative that challenges preconceived notions and invites us to question the justice system that holds him captive.

Leaving us with much more to ponder about the complexities of crime, punishment, and redemption on this episode of Voices of a Killer.

Tell me about your childhood, Dwayne. Would you say it was normal? Did you have some stress in life or would you abuse or what? It was normal. I used to get a lot of whoopings. I grew up in a household with the moms and three sisters and a stepfather. And I pretty much out having three sisters, it caused me to really step out in the streets real early, like five years when I was five, I pretty much was already in the streets pumping gas and carrying grocery bags and stuff like that.

Do you feel like you grew up in an area that was like a lot of drug activity and gang violence and stuff like that in St. Louis? Yes sir. Yeah, it was surrounded all, it was everywhere, all around me. So you basically probably saw like drug deals and people getting beat up and probably some shooting and stuff like that around the inner city.

Yes. I seen it all because when I was a kid at, at seven, I used to be like, run the four drug dealers, like when the, cause it, I come up in the crack era in the eighties, so it was like, I run to the stores and the Chinese food places to get buy food for the drug dealers back then. So I was able to see how they sold drugs and made their money and stuff like that.

So they would hire you as a kid to do stuff? You'd make money off the side of the kid? Yes sir. Yeah. I run to the store for them to buy like their juices because they can't leave their posts while they out there selling the cracks. So I run to the store, run to the Chinese places and buy 'em boxes of rice and stuff like that.

And when I come back I just stay there hoping, waiting for another. So when was the, uh, first time you ever got arrested? First time I got arrested was 10 years old for Stolen cross. What did your parents think about you running the streets for years? From six to 10 years old? I camely. Cause I was like playing church boy, a good kid, go to school and all that.

But once I was outta school I was just being bad. You know what I'm saying? I started selling drugs at eight years old. Yeah. And so it's like, My parents, they never knew that, none of that, because I was able to counter by doing all the right things, going to church, doing good in school, but once that was over with, I was in the streets full time.

Dwayne now 44 years old, reflects on his childhood and the circumstances that shaped his path. Growing up in a household with a mother, a stepfather, and three sisters, Duane experienced the typical challenges and discipline of family life. However, living in St. Louis, an area marked by drug activity and gang violence, Duane was exposed to a harsh reality from an early age.

Dwayne's resourcefulness and street smarts became evident as he became a runner for drug dealers by the age of seven. This early involvement gave him firsthand insight into the drug trade and the money it generated offering a unique perspective. On the inner workings of that world. Being surrounded by such influences quickly led to Wayne to joining a gang.

Growing up on the west side of St. Louis, this meant he was quick to sign up with the Boys of destruction. What's probably something like really bad you saw on the streets when you were really young, like you ever see somebody killed or anything? Yes. Yeah, I seen several people killed on the street corner of the gang where I was from West Side Louis.

Where did you grow up in St. Louis? I grew up on the west side. You probably heard of a gang called Boys of Disruptions. Okay. And I joined that when I was like eight years old, like my late eight, late, early nine years old. What did you have to do to be able to join that? Uh, pretty much I grew into it, but I did a lot of stealing for the gang and stuff like that, and I pretty much had to fight.

Guys that was my age, but already a part of the gang and I fought them like every day to where it came to a point where they just wanted me to become friends with them and become a part of the gang as well. So Dwayne, your environment was really like just geared towards what you're talking about, but do you feel like you had an option to go a different direction?

Nah, not then. No. Not at all. You don't feel like anything in the community was reaching out to you, saying, here's an option for you instead of that, you don't feel like that was out there? Nah. No. Cause even back then, like even I, I was a boy scout right in our neighborhood, the, the public school had a boy scout, uh, troop and we was like, even the troop was just radical, you know what I'm saying?

And that was a boy scout. So it was just bad everywhere from school on the streets. You know what I'm saying? And it just was even a boy scout. Like I said, it was pretty much all the members was in there. You know what I mean? Is your, uh, parents still living? My mom, she died at 39. No, she passed away and my father's still alive.

Do you have support on the outside? Do you have people that reach out to you and, and show you love? Yeah. Yes. My, my sisters, I got my sisters, they still look out for, even my old, my own old gang buddies and stuff, they still look out for me. Got mad respect for me. Have you ever been shot before? I been shot before in my chest at 13 years old.

Why'd they shoot you? I was gang member. I was a Crip, so I grew a lot of blue and gold and I just got shot in my chest. Was it up close or up from far away? It was up close, probably like the width of a car, probably the distance of the night, five tomorrow. And it was a rival gang member that shot you? I didn't, I didn't know.

I'm sure it probably was, but I really didn't fully know, but I'll take it as it was,

St. Louis sits on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River and its giant gateway, arch marks, the symbolic entrance to the American west. This is not the only dividing line that runs through the city though. The west side of St. Louis is known for being a predominantly poor and black neighborhood. That still to this day, shows the scars of the segregation era home to several housing projects that were built during the 1940s and fifties.

By the seventies and eighties, Cass Avenue was the most notorious section of the city whom drug kingpins claiming turf to project and neighborhood wars. This was the perfect breeding ground for gangs. By the late 1980s and the early nineties, most of St. Louis gangs on the west side would become bloods while.

Small percentage became Crips, including the Boys of Destruction. As a member of the gang, he became a target for rival gang members. You would think that being shot and surviving would be a sign to try and remove yourself from this world. Dwayne's circumstances meant that that was not an option. The result left Dwayne with the lasting reminder of the dangerous world he was entangled in.

By the early 1990s, Duane as a teenager was already a seasoned member of the Boys of Destruction, fueled by the intense rivalry between the gangs on. One day he would make a faithful decision that would forever change his life.

Dwayne, it's my understanding that you actually committed a crime that put you in prison at the age of 15 that involved a murder. Tell me about what happened the day that happened. All right. I was hanging out with some friends and one of my other homeboys, he like, man, it's some girls that was up on the street called Paige and Hamilton.

So I was like, man, let's go up there. So we went up there and we was hanging out talking to the girls, but some guys from the opposite gang, they came up there as well. And so it became a fist fight. And then after that it became some, start some shooting and a young lady was killed. Where was this young lady at?

Was she in the group or was she just a bystander? She was part of the group, but she pretty much was a bystander because she wasn't no gang member or nothing like that. Did you know her? But she was part of the group? No, I didn't even know her. No. Not even from around the street, just she was just completely nude to you?

No, she was completely nude that first night. That was the first time I ever seen her, met her. How did they determine that you were the one that killed her? They had took me up to the crime scene and the young lady that was up there, they said I was up there, but I didn't do the shooting. But then they, homicide had took me down to the city homicide office and down there, the guys that I was running with, they said it was me that I was the one did the shooting.

Are you the one that pulled the trigger? No, I wasn't the one that pulled the trigger. So what made them determin that you were the one that did it? Because the two guys that that got arrested with me, they just told the detectives it was me that I did the shooting. How old were these other two guys? And I think the other one was 16.

So they were both older than you. 16, 17. You were 15. They said it was you and the cops went ahead and charged you with it and charged me with murder. Yep. Whenever all this happened, did you know that somebody had been struck by a bullet? Did you see 'em fall? No. No I didn't. At that night I didn't see actually person fall.

Cause I heard the shooting. I took off running. Nope. So did you have a gun at all that day? No, I didn't have no gun. This is already gone. You've been let out. This charge is already, you've done your time for it. You can honestly say that you really weren't the person that pulled the trigger that day. Yeah, I didn't pull the trigger.

And you didn't have a gun that day? No, I didn't have a gun. Nope. And I'm the only one that got arrested. I'm the only one that did time for the charge. I just did took it on the chin. The victim of the shooting was an innocent young woman, Lana Fields. Although Dwayne had no prior connection or knowledge of her, she became an unfortunate bystander caught in the crossfire.

The devastating consequences of that moment would forever alter the lives of everyone involved on that faithful day of April 6th, 1994. Despite his adamant denial of being responsible for the shooting circumstances conspired against Dwayne. Witnesses at the scene who were unfamiliar with him identified him as being present during the incident.

Additionally, two individuals who were arrested alongside him later implicated him as the shooter during their interrogation by the police. Consequently, Dwayne found himself charged with the murder of Latrina Fields. And her tragic passing will forever serve as a reminder of the innocent victims of gang land violence.

After the break, we find out what happened to Dwayne whilst in police custody. As soon as they said that the captain has punched me in my face and when he punched me in my face, I hit the floor. But it didn't really hurt, but it, I played like I was knocked out and they told me to get my B ass up.

So how long after this happened did you get arrested? I got arrested that night. They put handcuffs on me, right. Being and there. As soon as the guy that I thought was my friend said I did it, they handcuffed me and said the juvenile detention. And from that day forward, how long did you stay in prison? I stayed in prison for 20 years.

What was your sentence? Yep, April the sixth. I was into life with parole. Life with parole. How old were you by the time you made it to prison that you know, cuz this happened at 15, I'm sure you had trial and all. Did you plead not guilty? I ended up pleading guilty. I chose to plead guilty because of the circumstances.

Like my mom's didn't have no money to get a lawyer and. I was put in a position to where I didn't have no lawyer or I had to either tell who actually did the shooting. So I chose to just ride it out and pled guilty because they told me that I just do nine to 10 years and get out when I'm like 24 years old.

So, so here's what I think would happened, because I know how this works really well, especially after interviewing so many people. If two of them both say that you did it and then you're saying that I didn't, Then they're gonna try to find somebody dependent on, and that's usually how that works. If they got more than one saying he did it, and then you're saying, I didn't do it, they'll usually pick you as the perpetrator.

I, I don't know why they do that, but people that talk, usually, the people that talk are usually the ones that get away. And And you probably were like, I didn't do it. And they probably asked you then who did it, and you probably said, I don't know. So that's what I'm guessing. I don't know. That's exactly what happened.

Yeah. They had all three of us in the same interview room and when they asked us to come, we from the we gang room. So it's like they asked these questions, who did the shooting and all that? Yeah. Look, the other two guys, juveniles look at me. And I'd be like, I don't know. And then they'll say, I don't know.

So the homicide detectives, they pretty much realized that I was more stronger than them and or aggressive, you can say. So what they did was they took me to another room and they took me to this other room. They asked me questions again, did I do it? I'm like, no. They said, did I know dude? I said, nah. So at that point, they had hung me out of foot for a homicide window.

And then they pulled me back in, inside this window. Right. And they, like, I had a little smirk on my face because they was actually trying to straighten out my clothes. And so they like, man, we got a girl dead. And so they said, wait till I meet this six foot white captain. Right? And soon as they said that the captain has punched me in my face and when he punched me in my face, I hit the floor.

But it didn't really hurt, but it, I played like I was knocked out. And they told me to get my beat ass up and they took me back into the room with the other two juveniles and in there they was crying. And so they asked them again, they said, who was the shooter? And the two juveniles said I was. And at that point they put handcuffs on and they handcuffed it to a table.

And I had never seen the streets. I pretty much had since, didn't stayed in prison for 20 years in four or five months, 1894. Dwayne's arrest and subsequent treatment by the police revealed a troubling narrative of police brutality and coercion immediately following the incident, as his supposed friends pointed fingers at him, Dwayne found himself in handcuffs, taken into custody without delay.

The wheels of the justice system had begun to turn, but with a disturbing lack of fairness. The police officer's aggressive tactics, manipulation, and resorting to violence underscored the systematic issues of police brutality and abuse of power. Dwayne's experience serves as a tragic example of the injustices that can occur within the criminal justice system, particularly when it fails to provide equal protection and fair treatment to all individuals.

Despite maintaining his innocence, Dwayne was coerced into de pleading guilty due to the absence of legal representation without the means to afford an attorney. He was thrust into a position where he felt compelled to accept a plea deal that promised a shorter sentence. The circumstances surrounding his arrest and the pressure he faced made it a daunting choice to make.

As a result of his guilty plea, Dwayne was sentenced to life in prison for second degree murder and armed criminal action. Dwayne soon found himself in prison with adults as a juvenile, and I wanted to know what his experience was like. Whenever you got locked up in the jail before you went to prison, you're 15.

Going on 16. Did they have you in your own cell or did they have you with anybody else? They had in a juvenile dorm. It's like a dormitory with all juveniles with like murders and stuff. So did you have to wait till you were 17 to get hold of prison? Nah, they put me, when I made the prison, I was 16 years old and I was put in the cell with a guy like 50 something years old.

Like soon as I got sentenced and went to prison, department of Corrections, Missouri Department of Corrections, I was grown. Man, you know what I'm. It wasn't no juvenile dorms or none of that. No more. Are you serious? You were 16 years old and they put you, yeah. Where? Where'd you, where'd they, where'd you go?

Yeah. J C. C or Lake or what? No, they sent me to Pacific because back then Pacific was like a level four or five override, and by me being young with a life sentence, they just sent me straight to her and put me in a silver grown man. I'm a eating child with grown men and all that. Wow. So what was that like adjusting to prison at that age?

It was pretty rough because what had happened was when I was in the jail, the workhouse. I used to do a lot of fighting with grown men, you know what I'm saying? When they did like we going to child and stuff like that, I used to fight with a lot of grown, grown men cause of the gang. I was real deep off into the gang, and so I was cripped, but this gang called Boys discussions.

And so what happened? I did a lot of fighting prior to going to prison. So when I got to prison, it was like a little easier because I was seeing guys that I was fighting with or they seen me fight. So it took a little bit of pressure off of me, but people still tried different tricks and stuff against me though.

Cause I was only 16. Like I said, you know when you get there, you probably had a first fight, first run. How long did that take till your first fight? What happened? My first fight, it was like, like a week later, I was working in the, they assigned me to the work in the kitchen, right. And this guy, he telling me what job I supposed to do and I immediately, immediately jumped on him and started whooping him.

You know what I'm saying? Until the guys tell me, hold on, man, you tripping. He the lead man. Cause I didn't understand what a lead man was, but he actually was a kitchen worker and he just helped keep things in order while the other inmates worked. And so I didn't know that. I thought he was like being the police.

So that was my first statement that I made when I got to prison and fighting. They put you in the hole? Yeah, they put me in the hole, yep. How long did you do? I did 14 days. Which was a life sentence back then. Yeah. So whenever you went in there, you were already patched up with a gang, but that's a street gang.

Does that gang exist in the prison too? Yeah, I had a lot of homeboys in the prison already. Are you patched up with a gang now? No, I ain't active. I'm not active. Yeah. I always said I was in it for life. I always said I was a lifetime member, but I ain't activated like I once was though. Yeah. And so you did quite some time, what, 21 years you said, and then you got paroled?

Yeah, I did 21 years and made parole. What's the craziest thing you've probably seen in there? You ever seen somebody get killed or stabbed? Really bad? Yeah, I seen a lot of stabs. People get stabbed pretty bad. Yeah, get stabbed, stuff like that. That happened on a regular back then in the nineties. And what year did you go down?

I got locked up in 94. I made the prison in 95. The, A year later. Y'all only did eight months in the city jail workhouse. After being sentenced to life with parole at the age of 16, Dwayne's journey through the prison system was marked by challenges and encounters with violence. The transition from the juvenile dormitory to the harsh reality of adult prison was jarring.

As he found himself confined among grown men, far removed from the protective environment of the juvenile system. Dwayne's affiliation with the Boys of Destruction gang established in the streets provided him with some level of protection and support within the prison walls. However, he emphasized that he no longer is an active member and has moved on from that part of his life.

In 2014, after serving 20 years, Dwayne was granted parole. The exact circumstances and factors that contributed to his parole were not mentioned, but it can be inferred that his conduct, rehabilitation efforts and the evaluation of his suitability for reintegration to society played significant roles in the decision.

Dwayne's release on parole marked a new chapter in his life, offering him an opportunity to rebuild and reintegrate into society. But before long, he would find himself back in prison. And accused of six other murders. And so you got released, you got paroled out. Yep. And then you actually got accused of six other murders, right?

Yeah, they accused me of six murders. Are you good for those murders? Nah. No sir. No. No. I ain't good. Not at all. And you actually went to trial for these six murders, right? Yeah, like a week before trial, the federal government decided to just drop the charges. They didn't have no eyewitnesses. They had a guy that got caught with a gun and he was claiming that I told him about some murder, so on.

And so that alone, they charged me and I fought it for two years, and they decided like four or five days prior to trial, they decided to drop all the charges. And the only reason why they did that is because they knew that they wasn't gonna be able to prove the charges, but they wasn't gonna be able to prove I sold drugs, but they knew that I was still on life on parole and it, it would revoke my parole just getting arrested for the charges.

That's why I think they kinda considered all that. Yeah. Now, because you got charged with those six murders you got locked up on because you were on parole and. Even though you got exonerated from the six murders, you're still in there because of the parole violation. And you've been in there for how long now?

I've in there for seven years and eight months. So you got out over seven years ago and then got charged six murders. Those murders got dropped and they've not let you out since. Why do you think they've not let you out? I'm still been lost. I've been lost for the last seven and a half years. I just, have you talked to the parole board?

I don't know. I talked to the parole board and when I go see the parole board, they said there is no reason to hold me. But they had gave me like, first time they gave me two year setback, then they gave me a five year setback. But they had said that we have no reason to hold you, but I get a setback. So I had to go see 'em.

I go see 'em now in 25, in January of 25, and that'd be 10 years total. Why do they think that you did those six murders? Because of the, the neighborhood I was living in when I made parole, I decided not to go west and went south. And some of the people that I was communicating with, that's some of the people that they, that was, they said, I'm the last person to communicate with.

But that wasn't the case then what those six people get killed for. That's what I'm saying. I don't know. You know what I'm saying? You'll see if you can, if you run my name, you'll see some and they'll the reasons why in the newspaper articles and stuff. They didn't have all types of stories that I was robbed and I retaliated and all different types of stuff, but I wasn't associated with neither one of them.

But what it did was it violated my life on parole. So I've been back in here for seven years for no reason at all, almost eight years for no reason at all, because they charged me with the murders and drug trafficking and all that. But I actually legally beat the charges. But it revoked my life on parole for the state.

So that's where I'm at now. I've been in seven and a half years now on a parole violation for, without having no charges or nothing. You know what I'm saying on the, so just the cases that I, so basically a parole violation? Yeah, I'm on parole violation. I got seven and a half years in on that, but I'm still up under the original life sentence from when I was 15 years old.

So I was only out on the streets for 14 months. I've been doing 20 years and I think it's 20 years and four, five months or so. 14 months later, Duane was charged in federal court of two additional killings. The charges included possession with intent to distribute heroin and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The incident alleged that Duane shot Arend Davis in December of 2014 and Juanita Davis in January of 2015. At the time of Arend Davis's murder authorities believe she was shot in the head and neck in an apartment in St. Louis, Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Juanita Davis, on the other hand, was found dead in the street with multiple gunshot wounds following an argument that witnesses had heard.

Dwayne being accused of these two murders were enough for him to be sent back to prison in 2015 while waiting for his trial. The guy that Dwayne refers to was one Joe Edgar, who pleaded guilty in US District Court in St. Louis in 2016 to a charge of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in relation to the murders.

According to court documents, Edgar a convicted felon, gave a nine millimeter firearm to an acquaintance Dwayne Taylor. In exchange for Taylor's 22 caliber firearm. Edgar understood that Taylor intended to use the nine millimeter gun in connection with a drug trafficking activity and to retaliate against the woman who had stolen property from Taylor.

Taylor eventually used the firearm to kill that woman. Whether or not this happened, the charges for murder were dropped against Dwayne and Edgar was sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, as Dwayne correctly stated, the charges themselves were enough to lead to a parole violation. Whilst we unfortunately do not have details of the four other murders, the fog that hangs over both the truth and Dwayne's legal situation makes it difficult to really know what will happen to him in the future.

It seemed like now I done figured out what went wrong and it's like now they don't wanna let me go. You know what I'm saying? It's like, no, we ain't letting them go this time. You know what I'm saying? And that's how I feel right now. That and more after the break.

So, Duane, whenever you get out, what's your plan? If you were to get out tomorrow, is it to be on the streets and sell drugs or is it to better yourself? A little better myself. See, I'm done with the drugs. I want a tow truck and a little piece of land. Cause I like working on cars, you know what I'm saying?

I'm gonna be walking the right path. Do you think that's gonna be a hard thing to accomplish whenever you get out and you just, you're starting from the bottom and the easy route is to just make a hustle selling drugs? Yeah. It's probably, it'll be, it gonna be challenging because I'm saying that's what I come up doing, hustling.

I know I love hustling, right? But I realize that ain't the way to go and that ain't where I'm going this round here. I'm gonna get out and do all the right things no matter if I ain't got much or not. But I've been blessed to have a good support group to, to help me. You know what I mean? As far as whatever I choose to do, I got support.

Whether I wanna go to gang bang, or whether I wanna go to sell drugs, or if I wanna get the tow truck and a piece of land, I got people now that will support me. Do you think or whatever I'm trying to do. Do you think the parole board thinks that's not possible? That you're probably gonna get out there and commit crimes and there's, you're gonna make the crime go up in the, you know what I mean?

You're gonna be a statistic that gets out and that's why they keep you in there because you're not gonna get the tow truck, you're not gonna do something better. Do you think that's the way they think? Yeah. I think that's the way they think because, and it's not bragging or nothing, but like when I was doing the 20 years, Like I said, I got life sentence with parole, but I had 20 years in and along the way I started to lose hope while I was doing my time.

I was, I did good programs and all that, but at some point I started losing hope and I started finding myself in trouble, like catching the assault in the jail, in the prison. But then they turned around and gave me a parole date and I was like, I needed it and I wanted my freedom, right? But at the same time, based on my behavior, I think I wasn't ready.

So it's like they kicked me straight out to the streets with no support. I went straight to the house. Like I didn't, I, they gave me a five month date and I went straight to the streets and it was just like, they just stood me out there like they was just knowing he'd be right back, you know what I'm saying?

And I actually come back like in 14 months. But it seems like now I done figured out what went wrong. And it's like now they don't wanna let me go. You know what I'm saying? It's like, no, we ain't letting them go this time. You know what I'm saying? And that's how I feel right. Now. Whenever you got out the first time, did you report to your parole officer or did you completely just say, fuck it?

No, I reported to the parole officer, did all my drug tests and stuff like that. It's interesting to note Dwayne's self-awareness to his lack of readiness to be released back in 2014. The lack of support around him and his ungracious dumping back onto the streets by the justice system led him straight back into the life he once led.

It highlights how there is a distinct lack of aftercare for prisoners once they have served their sentence, and also highlights the need or reform in this area. Dwayne's frustration with the situation is palpable as he serves a sentence. That surpasses the time he's spent on the streets as a free man.

He yearns for justice and hopes that his story shared through this platform will shed light on the injustices that he faced in potentially garner support for his release. Whatever the truth of this situation, it is clear that Dwayne has a dream just like the rest of us. His dream is just to live a normal life with a tow truck and a piece of land.

While there were question marks over whether he would ever achieve this dream, I couldn't help having some sympathy for Dwayne. As we end this episode of Voices of the Killer, we are once again left with the question of will you condemn them or will you forgive them? Dwayne, it's crazy, man. You went to prison at such a young age.

I know you got some challenges out there on the streets. I know somebody like me, some white dude telling you, Hey, you can do better, but you, you got different experiences than most of the world. You grew up in an environment. That's difficult. But all I can say is I, I hope you can get over the challenges that are out there and accomplish the dreams that you got, tow truck or whatever it is, something better to where you don't get killed or you have to live a life that's always on the edge and where you wind up back in prison.

So I appreciate you talking to me, man. And uh, yeah. Yeah, I, I appreciate it. I ain't normal. I'm not normal. But I appreciate it though. But I'm in, I ain't in bad shape at all. It's kinda hard to explain, but you know what I mean. Like it ain't hard to explain at all, man. Hey, man, keep my number near you, bro.

If you ever need something, I'll try to help you out, whatever I can, okay? All right. That's what's up. All right, man. Take it easy, okay? All right, you too. Yep. See you. Bye.

On the next episode of Voices of a Killer. How many shots did you fire at him? I don't even know. Ever since I did the Netflix I, that was like three, four years ago. I still have nightmares and I still have flashback. You wrote down on the piece of paper and I quote, I got the gun and I just pulled the trigger.

I'm an 18 year old girl with a six play year old. I didn't have a man or anything else. I was living by myself, so I was fearing. I was scared. How has prison been for you? Has it been pretty bad for you? I just can't wait till my pain to be over. I can have better days. Justice wasn't never made for me.

That's a wrap on this episode. Voices of a killer. I want to thank Dwayne for sharing his story with us today. His ability to be open and honest as what makes this podcast so special. A big shout out to Sonic Futures who handle the production audio editing, music, licensing, and promotion of this podcast.

If you want to hear more episodes like this one, make sure to visit our website at voices of a killer.com. There you can find previous episodes, transcripts, and additional information about the podcast. Lastly, if you enjoyed this, Episode, please consider leaving us a review on Spotify, apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Your feedback helps us improve and reach new listeners. Thank you for your support and we can't wait to share more stories with you in the future. Thank you for tuning in. I'm your host, Toby, and we'll see you next time on voices of a killer.