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Transcript90 lines
- [00:01]
Mom
Hey honey, it's mom. Did you know if we switch to Verizon we can get four phones for $0 plus four lines for $25 a line. Call me back me again. That's just $100 a month for four lines on unlimited welcome plus four phones. No trade in needed. Call me. It's mom. America's best network Verizon. That's the one we're talking about. I'll send you text.
- [00:22]
Evaristo Salas Jr
America's best network based on RootMetric's best overall mobile network performance US second half 2025 four new lines on a limited welcome and autopay. See verizon.com for details.
- [00:30]
BetterHelp/Grow Therapy Advertiser
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- [01:02]
Progressive Insurance Advertiser
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- [01:23]
Jack Lawrence
You're looking. Looking well.
- [01:26]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah, definitely. Well, I can tell you that one.
- [01:29]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah, being in the free world looks good on you, mate.
- [01:32]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah, it feels good.
- [01:45]
Jack Lawrence
Hello and welcome back to One minute remaining. My name is Jack Lawrence, the the host and creator of this show. In November of 2022, one evening, after my wife and I had put the kids to bed, we sat down and chucked on a streaming service and stumbled across a show called Wrongman. Billed as a show that was looking into cases of people claiming to have been wrongfully incarcerated. The very first story of season one told a harrowing tale of a young man who'd been arrested at just 15 for a murder he said he didn't commit. We sat glued to episode one and two of this story, a story which ended in an incredible revelation of a snitch claiming that he was forced to fabricate a statement by the lead detective in the case. And on that, the show ended. After we finished, I frantically jumped online to find out what had happened to this man and his freedom and was shocked to see that he was still in prison. And at that moment, I knew I had to speak to him.
- [03:04]
Evaristo Salas Jr
My name is Eldritch Losadas Jr I was wrongly convicted of first degree I premeditated murder when I was 15 years old and I was sentenced to 32 years, 9 months.
- [03:14]
Jack Lawrence
How long have you currently been incarcerated for?
- [03:16]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I've been incarcerated for about 26 years and 6 months.
- [03:23]
Jack Lawrence
And so began our journey with Evaristo Salas Jr. A journey that would end on the 18th of August, 2023 with one phone call.
- [03:38]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Hello?
- [03:39]
Jack Lawrence
Hey Debbie, it's Jack. How are you?
- [03:42]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Hi.
- [03:44]
Jack Lawrence
What's, what's, what's happening?
- [03:45]
Evaristo Salas Jr
So he's exonerated?
- [03:48]
Jack Lawrence
No way.
- [03:50]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yes. No way. No, he's, he's, he's free and we're
- [03:57]
Jack Lawrence
on our way to pick him up right now. Oh my God.
- [04:02]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I know.
- [04:03]
Jack Lawrence
Sherby, what the hell happened?
- [04:06]
Mom
I don't know.
- [04:08]
Evaristo Salas Jr
We walked in at 9:00 o'clock and at 9:02 the prosecutor was saying that.
- [04:15]
Jack Lawrence
God, Debbie, I'm gonna cry.
- [04:18]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I know.
- [04:20]
Jack Lawrence
However, as that journey ended, another one begins. One that now sees a 43 year old man who grew up inside a penitentiary, learning about the world all over again. I caught up with Junior a week after he was released and he was still finding his feet and being shuttled around from relative to relative, homecoming after homecoming. But now that the dust has settled and the world goes back to its normal daily routine, how is he doing? Well, I sat down with him again to find out just that. And it will be no surprise to anyone that he is thriving.
- [05:06]
BetterHelp/Grow Therapy Advertiser
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- [06:07]
Mom
Hey honey, it's Mom. Did you know if we switch to Verizon, four phones for $0 plus four lines for $25 a line. Call me back, me again. That's just $100 a month for four lines on unlimited welcome. Plus four phones. No trade in needed. Call me. It's Mom. America's best network Verizon. That's the one we're talking about.
- [06:26]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I'll send you text America's best network based on root metrics Best overall mobile network performance us second half 2025 four new lines and aluminum welcome and auto pay. See verizon.com for details.
- [06:36]
Progressive Insurance Advertiser
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- [07:15]
Jack Lawrence
The last time we spoke with you were sort of just I think about maybe a week, two weeks out of prison. So still very fresh, still a lot going on. You know, it was leading up to Christmas and all that sort of stuff. The big family events, I'm sure super overwhelming for you.
- [07:32]
Evaristo Salas Jr
It wasn't too overwhelming. It was something that I've always envisioned and missed. It didn't disappoint. I mean, everybody came together and I was, you know, the reason why everybody came together because everybody, you know, growing up, they have their lives, they have their kids, they had to juggle between two families, you know, the wife and then, you know, the son, that kind of stuff. So but they all came together and made it a good Christmas, made it a good birthday and so all the holidays, they've all come together and we've celebrated together, which is, it's amazing. You know, it really feels, felt good at the time. I don't know how long it's going to last because like I said, you know, everybody had the joy of, you know, of me being out and I hope that it continues, you know, because I, I just, I spoke to him during the family reunions and stuff and told him, look, you know, if you want this to continue, everybody has to put the effort in it. Everybody has to do their part and, and not kind of wait for, for individuals to be invited, that kind of stuff. You know, I trying to get them out of this, this mentality where they feel, you know, well, they have to invite me or this because if you wanted to work, you just have to do your part and not worry about if someone's going to bite you or do that or did. But it was good. I enjoyed it. I enjoy. See the kids getting presidents, watching them kind of run around the house. And that's how it was when I was a kid. Yeah, it was. It was a great moment.
- [08:43]
Jack Lawrence
There's obviously going to be a lot of people that you wouldn't have seen in decades, you know, was that sort of a bit mind blowing, seeing some people that obviously, you know, when you would have seen them last time, they were either kids or, you know, same age as you and now you're all adults.
- [08:57]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah, it's kind of a reminder how long I've been away. I've seen kids that weren't even born when I was out. You know, some, like, almost all of. Almost. Almost everybody except for my, like my nephew Junior, all the rest were born while I was incarcerated. And kind of seeing them and getting to know them, it's been a little strange and awkward at times because like I said, they're already growing up. They've already formed the personalities and I'm coming into their. Their lives pretty late.
- [09:22]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah.
- [09:22]
Evaristo Salas Jr
And so to try to bond with them all and try to, you know, get to know them at a better level, it's kind of challenging at times because they, some of them are teenagers, so they've already formed their little. Their thought processes on life, you know, and some of them have this mentality where, you know, when you're a teenager, you think kind of, you know, you know, everything.
- [09:37]
Jack Lawrence
Of course.
- [09:39]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah. So to try to bond with them in that kind of way. I do, you know, because I joke a lot and I. I play a lot. And so. But yeah, it's. It's a little awkward at times. Not anymore, but in the beginning, it was for the first month or two. And then also just seeing my, like, my brother, he was eight years old when I was out and so seen him as a family man, seen him as a dad, as a husband that's his own house, you know, all that kind of stuff, you know, and has like, you know, a large family. And I, I kind of admire it because he's done such a good job at, you know, you know, being a good dad and being there for his family and a stable environment for his kids, you know, a lot more than we. Than what we have when we're kids. But just seeing that is very strange and new to me. And same thing with my sister, even my older sister Deb and my younger sister. And then seeing their kids because they're all old and having their own kids and so yeah, it's a lot.
- [10:31]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah. What's been the biggest adjustment would you say, from obviously spending your life 247 incarcerated and being told what you can do, what you can't do, when you do things, when you go to sleep, all the rest of it. Is it, is there one thing that's been a really big adjustment for you or have you felt like you've kind of adjusted really well?
- [10:51]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I think I did a pretty good, pretty good job at adjusting. Not too much. There hasn't been really anything big. I do like got to get used to just being able to walk out of the room whenever I want. I think sometimes I like, for instance, I do a lot of schoolwork because I'm in college and all that stuff. So I'll spend all day in there just non stop on the computer knocking out these assignments and then realize that I don't have to be in the room. I can actually study outside or go to the park. And so the other day, like the first quarter, the first quarter that I did college, I spent most of it right there in my room. I'd be in there all morning when I got back to class and just knocking out these assignments and then come out like at 9:30 or 10 at night and realize the whole day is gone. But then I started realizing I can just take this to the library, I can take this to the, you know, to the local park. I can do all this stuff. And so this, this week when I already started on my. Have I already started on my new quarter I've been into for probably about three weeks now. And so now I've just been bouncing around to the library. The other day I went to the, to one of the parks between Sunnyside and Grandview and just went out there and read, you know, and kind of just, just enjoy being able to do that. Because in prison you can't basically can't leave your room whenever you want, but you can't take anything out to the yard. Getting adjusted that and realizing I have that option to do and then coming out at night, I have a tendency, I had a tendency the first couple of weeks of just being in the room and thinking and I would sit there and I'd be like, wait a minute, I can just go outside. What am I doing? And then I'll just go walk outside. And because in prison you're never outside at night. So just the shock of that and be able to see the stars and just kind of just seeing how it is out there. It was, it was kind of a really beautiful feeling and it's just like almost a reminder. I have to sometimes remind myself not so much now, but in the beginning that I can do these things, that there's nothing stopping me, you know. And then once I learned how to drive and got comfortable going on freeways and got my own car and everything, got my driver's license, then it was like, you know, as long as I had gas money, I pretty much go anywhere I want, you know. And so that, that's been, been wonderful, you know, to drive. So I drive back and forth from college and it's about a, I would say about a 45 minute drive from Sunnyside to here to try cities in my sister's house. And then just learning the roads back and forth, learning the, the off ramps and all that stuff. You know, in the beginning it was, it was, I had a lot of anxiety, you know, because I was, I was just not used to having not only so much decisions, but having that kind of control over my life. My dad, though, he sat in the, you know, so the first couple times back and forth to Tri Cities, he was right next to me and kind of just coached me along the way. And then the next week I just started doing it by myself. And he's like, hey, how'd you do it? Good. It's like, yeah. And then, so we had. It was strange because I'm, I'm already, I'm 43 and. But we're experiencing those moments we should experience when we're like when I was 14 or 15 years old, it's just, you know, a couple decades later, but we're having those moments and it's been, it's been great, you know. And so I still don't travel around the city too much because the roads are compared to sunny. Sunnyside's a small farming town, so everything's really slow, you know, over there. Here in Tri Cities, it's like you know, 250,000 people and it's got, you know, these different streets and all these little different rules that I'm not accustomed to. So I'm still kind of weary doing that. So I kind of take the same, every time I go somewhere, I go the same route every time. I rarely veer off to somewhere else. So having a choice to, to, to do without what I, when I want to, when I feel like it, that, that, that took some time to adjust to.
- [14:06]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah, it's incredible those things that we just didn't everyone day to day doesn't even think about. We don't, we just, you know. But yeah, it's one of those things that you just, you know, obviously for most people they grow up and they, they can do what they want and they just don't even think that, you know, about those things, which is crazy. Tell us about college. What are you studying now at college?
- [14:24]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I'm going to major in social work. But the classes I'm taking right now I took the Introduction to Criminal justice, introduction Psychology and then Introduction to Social Work. And I'm going for my aas which is a transfer degree. And so when I hit the two year mark and I get my A, then I'm going to transfer to a university and go for four year for my bachelor's or my BA. And so the whole purpose behind all this is to give me the background to work with kids and in the schools and be like a guidance counselor. And that's something, some, something along those lines or you know, to work as a probation officer even to work as counselors inside the prison system, all that kind of stuff, you know. So I'm gearing, I want to work towards the kids because I want to especially in my community where I grew up at.
- [15:09]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah.
- [15:10]
Evaristo Salas Jr
And, but I just need that educational background because I've already had job offers in that area. But if I take those now and don't take advantage of, of getting the schooling in, then I'm going to get stuck in one place. I'm not going to be able to move beyond that because it requires you to have an AA or BA and all that kind of stuff. So I figured right now I got, they have all these programs where they. Which is really strange because so the fact that I got out of prison and literally had nothing meant that there's so much financial aid and so much benefits open to me. And so basically the government's, the federal government and different other programs that have. Are just giving me money because of the past 27 years of having nothing. They're paying for the schooling, they got me a computer, they're going to pay for the gas, they'll pay for housing, just all kinds of programs that they have that I kind of semi knew about in prison but didn't know to the extent it was until I got out. And so they're pretty much funding my college. The only things required of me is to keep a, you know, a certain GPA which I, this last GPA I got a 3.9. And so I was within the top 10, 10% of the school that opens doors to scholarships and all that kind of stuff, you know, so having, you know, the opportunity to do that now and then pay for it is. I had to take advantage of that, so I had to turn down those offers, even though I wanted to.
- [16:27]
Jack Lawrence
That's amazing. So the government, actually. Now, is that because you've been exonerated, or would it. Would that be open to most people who are freed from prison?
- [16:35]
Evaristo Salas Jr
It's simply programs that are open to people that are struggling financially, that are under the poverty level, which, because I have nothing, you know, I literally just came out of prison, meant that I have. I qualify for all that.
- [16:46]
Jack Lawrence
Right, okay.
- [16:47]
Evaristo Salas Jr
And so it's just. It's just things that are open for pretty much every individual that's below the kind of the poverty line, that kind of stuff, you know, so. And it's. It's a. It's a strange thing because it's. It's a unique place to be in, but it comes. It came at a cost, you know.
- [17:02]
Jack Lawrence
Of course.
- [17:02]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah. At this place in my life, I'd be, you know, in a different place if it wasn't for that 27 years in prison. But then again, you know, like I said, so that. So, like, for instance, the financial aid I get, I get the max they can give me. And most people don't qualify for that because, you know, they have jobs, or they had jobs before.
- [17:19]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah.
- [17:20]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Or they get social, you know, just.
- [17:21]
Jack Lawrence
They've had something.
- [17:23]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah, exactly. So the government only gets them. Makes up a certain amount, a certain percentage. But since I had nothing, having had even a job, even the jobs I had in prison don't qualify as jobs because they're on gratuity, so they pay you in gratuity. So it's basically just a gift. It's not something that's an actual job. And so that actually worked to my benefit. And for most prisoners, there's even more programs that you can get. But a lot of the prisoners get out, either don't know about it or they just don't take advantage of them. But for me, I went to this one, went to that one, and just started writing, filling all these things out and applying for all of them that I could get.
- [17:57]
Jack Lawrence
Well, that is obviously brilliant. I mean, as we know, it's come at an incredibly huge cost. But suppose, you know, at least now you can take advantage of all that stuff and further. Further your life and do that without essentially having anything at the moment. So. Yeah, I mean, speaking of that, one of the biggest questions I obviously get asked when People listen to your story. It's still the amount of messages I get, mate, on a daily basis. People saying, I've sat in my car this afternoon crying, listening to Evaristo's story, and it's becoming free. And the injustice. We know all about that and obviously we've spoken about this before and you've said to me that, you know, you spent so many years fighting the courts that you just were exhausted from it and you just didn't want to do it again for a while. Have you thought about potentially what you could do in respect to getting some sort of financial, shall we say, benefit from, from what was a horrendous thing that happened to you?
- [18:47]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah, we, my, my lawyer's already kind of filed on it, so it's already in the process.
- [18:51]
Jack Lawrence
Right.
- [18:52]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Like I said, when I, I don't personally don't want anything to do with the courts, but I realize that unless something is done, it's allowing individuals to kind of get away with it.
- [19:01]
Jack Lawrence
Oh, absolutely.
- [19:02]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I'm not out for vengeance or that kind of stuff, but at the same time, it's accountability. The only thing. Yeah, exactly, it's accountability. And the only thing they really respect is when it hits them in their pocketbook. I mean, it's gonna get them to think twice doing these knee jerk reactions, targeting certain communities or that kind of stuff. And if that's the only change that I can make to that, at least to get them to think twice or, you know, to think back, well, maybe I should look into this a little more. And that's a positive, and that's, that's coming far from where we're at right now, you know, and so thinking of, in those kind of terms, you know, you know, I think it has to
- [19:32]
Jack Lawrence
be done without a doubt. I mean, everyone I speak to says, you know, surely he is owed something for what happened to him. And as you said, it's not about vengeance and in a way it's not even, you know, although the money will be great when it comes, I would say when it comes through, because there's no way you can't. But when it comes through, of course that's going to be great and that's going to be helpful to you. But again, it's not just about the money, it's about holding people accountable. Otherwise nothing will ever change and this shit will just keep happening to people because it'll be a case of, oh, well, yeah, sorry about that. There you go, freedom again, move on with our lives. But, and it will just. This cycle could Continue. I don't have to tell you, but, you know, the amount of people who are incarcerated, wrongfully incarcerated in the United States is still phenomenal. And it just keeps happening. And even when you got released, you know, when you got exonerated, I mean, they did a small news story on it, but for me, it's like, hold it. This should be big news, people. You know, a kid lost his life for 27 years and he's free. And they've been exonerated because of all this horrendous, you know, the lying and the, you know, all the rest of it. But it's a little footnote and carry on with your life. So I'm glad that you are going after them and that you are going to try and make some people accountable because it needs to happen. It really does.
- [20:46]
Evaristo Salas Jr
No, yeah, it definitely does. And like I said, it's. It's a horrible thing when they won't even, you know, apologize or won't even give you that. And the fact that they won't just means that they don't even, you know, care about the family, the victim's family, because they, if they won't admit that they were wrong in that, that means they're not going to pursue the people that are actually responsible. They're just going to sit and just let it sit, and then that family's never going to get justice. You know, and so that's another aspect of it that really, that really bothers me about it. It's like, it's bad enough that, you know, then you argues for a lie, which was obviously right, and you held on that, held on to that until that person that was doing all that stuff, you know, kind of blurted some stuff out and you couldn't protect anymore. That's when you decided to kind of let go. But you, all those things were already there and you knew about it, and yet you still argued that. And it's sad because, you know, these are. These are individuals that supposed to represent, you know, justice. They're supposed to be the individuals that, that they, they swear. They swear an oath to hold this stuff. And, and then when it comes to, you know, something as wrong as this, they won't even say, you know, our bad, or I'm sorry, or, you know, hey, we got it wrong, simply because they're worried about what it looks, you know, on them or the financial aspects, all that. They don't even think about the moral aspect of it, which should be the thing that's compelling them the most. And it's not And. And that's one of the saddest things, you know, because to say, you know, oh, well, we're not saying he's innocent. We're just, you know, we. We can't convict him on what we had. It's just. It's just. I mean, come on, really.
- [22:22]
Jack Lawrence
It's ego, I suppose, at the end of that, or, you know, it comes down to two things. Ego and money. We say we're wrong, and we have to admit that we got it wrong, and the system maybe have got it wrong. And then, not only that, but also, oh, we got a financial situation that's going to. And we look at Rivard, you know, as you said, you know, you rightfully said that they were still fighting to keep you in prison. Let's not forget that they were still trying to argue that you should still be incarcerated. If it hadn't been, as you said, for Rivard having his little moment on the stand, who knows where this would have gone? Thankfully, he did, because as we know, as you said, you know, they kind of threw their hands up and went, well, we can't really defend this anymore. But they were still trying. Not, as you said. It's not as if they were turning around and saying, oh, you know what? This was an injustice. We want to make this. We want to make this right. Mr. Evaristo Salas Jr. We want to let you free. It was a case of, oh, God, we're kind of in a situation here. But anyway. Well, look, I'm glad you're going to be making them accountable. Let's talk about something more enjoyable, and that is the fact that you said to me the other day that passport is on its way and that you're hopefully heading over to Europe in the not too distant future to see your wonderful other half.
- [23:25]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah, Yeah. I actually got my passport already, and I'll be. Already bought the ticket. August 17th is when I'm heading over to. To the Netherlands, and I'll be there all the way till September 10th.
- [23:35]
Jack Lawrence
Amazing.
- [23:35]
Evaristo Salas Jr
And we're gonna head to Belgium, then we're gonna head to Paris, and then we're just gonna go to the places where she grew up in the Netherlands, like Harlem and Amsterdam. And so we got it all planned out. I already saved a bunch of money, and so I got all the details. I just. I'm gonna talk to the bank, and I'll make sure my cards. My. My little debit card still works over there, because I don't want to take a pack of money over with me, you know?
- [23:55]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah.
- [23:56]
Knox from Gab
And so that's gonna be.
- [23:57]
Jack Lawrence
So isn't that just gonna be such a trip? Like, I mean, you know, you're gonna be. For the first time in your life. I know you've been on a plane recently. We'll talk about that in a second. But, like, for the first time in your life, you're going to be flying overseas to Europe and traveling around all these countries that. I know we spoke when you were incarcerated, you know, and you said, yeah, you've watched the TV show so many times and you've seen all these places on TV and all that stuff, so. But you're actually going to be there, which is just. It must be just so exciting.
- [24:21]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Well, yeah, that's. I mean, that's. I. I've done more in the last seven months than I've done in my entire life. And the traveling aspect of it, you know, that's something that it was. Was. You know, I was too young, at 15 years old to even think beyond the little local area that I was at, and. But to see now and. And to realize, you know, you get that passport, you get that freedom. And I was just like, look, you know, there's. I can go places. All that. All that's required is to save up a certain amount of money, and then I can hit the places that I've seen on. On TV and the Travel Channel I used to watch. And. But just being able to. Actually, it's strange because I used to talk to my fiance all the time, and I would tell her, look, this is what I'm going to do. This is the plan. It was so far out there in hope, you know, because it was. Everything rested on, you know, okay. And I didn't know how I was going to do this or how I was going to come about. I just knew. I had the desire to get there, and I knew. I knew if I had that, that I can make it happen. Making it happen. Like I said, I had to get out and I had to kind of fill out all the paperwork. I had to get all my paperwork situated first, which was. It was a battle in itself, you know, and even the process of getting my. My passport, they didn't. They. They kind of sent me a bunch of stuff back saying they basically didn't believe who I was. They were like, you know, we need more information. And they said, we need things that are five, six years old. You know, tax returns, all that stuff. There was a confusing moment then. I was thinking like, oh. And I got kind of stressed out, and I was like, well, I'm just going to tell them straight out, look. And then I just sent them six, seven different news articles from different, different places showing that I was honoring. I wrote them letters to, look, I was exonerated. I've been in prison for the past 27 years. I can't produce this, and this is the reason why. But I got, I got my driver's license, I got all this stuff, but this is why it's so brand new. I sent them that stuff and I was thinking that maybe they were going to kind of still act a certain way, but then they ended up calling me a week later and they were just like, okay, it makes sense now. And just so you know, how do you want your name on your passport? As soon as they said that, I was like, well, that's great. And then they even said, look, I mean, they were kind of. All of us here in the office were just, you know, stunned at your story. We don't really see that very often. We're just glad, you know, congratulations on being out and that kind of stuff. And so we had kind of this little full on conversation about it. And then the passport came within, within a week, got the passport. And then once I got that in my hand, it was strange because I was actually, I was actually talking to my fiance when they gave me a call. And I got off the phone with them and I told her what happened, I'm going to get my passport. And she was like, oh, is it really the passport people? And I was like, she trusts nothing
- [26:44]
Jack Lawrence
to do with the United States system at all.
- [26:49]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah. And so she looked him up. She goes, oh, it really is. I looked up the numbers, I started crying and oh, my God, you find me. And then I said, yeah. I said, so once I got that, and I was like, okay. I was thinking about going in June and I was kind of rushing it. We had to kind of set it, which first we had to kind of set up, you know, would be the best day for her and where she has certain time off. And then the money aspect, I had to be like, okay, well, I gotta save at least, you know, a certain amount of money so I can have it. You know, we can be all right over there. Didn't know how I was gonna go about doing that. But the strange thing is, is I've been doing all these speeches and they've been paying me really good money to do it. And so I did two speeches and I had enough. I was like, whoa, put that aside. And I was like. And, well, I got, I Got the first was actually three speeches. Thanks. So it's three speeches. I had more than I needed that first speech. I said, look, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna buy this ticket right now. Mom. Talk to my cousin. She goes, applies all the time. Got set all that up and showed my fiance starting crying again. She's like, oh, my God. Booked a flight, everything. Got it all done, and then had that money set aside already for the trip. Now we're just waiting for the day to come. And she was just. She was just. She was just ecstatic over, you know, and so for me, it was just like, it's such a big jump because here I was just stuck in a box. Everything that I thought about it was just based on. On whole basement. It's gonna. I would always tell him, like I said, I would always tell my dad all the time, you know, hey, when I get out, I'm gonna do this. My fiancee won't get out. We're gonna do this. I told her, everybody. I told her, so the next time you're gonna see me, I'm gonna be flying in to the Netherlands in person. You know, I mean, so that's actually gonna happen on 17th. And so the weird thing is it's Exactly a year. 17 August, exactly a year that I've been, you know, I've been out. And that's the day that we're gonna fly into the Netherlands. And even my family, they're kind of just. They rarely leave that area. It's all local. Another country is something as far as that, you know, to them, it's just so foreign. So they're just looking at me like, you know, here I have been. I've been out. I've been out. I've been out, you know, in the free world my entire life, and I've never, never left. And then here you are, six, seven
- [29:05]
Jack Lawrence
months, and you're already going overstage. Yeah.
- [29:08]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah. It's just like. It's such a shock to them, you know? And then I think also the. The. They're just shock at seeing kind of how driven I am and how I didn't waste any time when I got out. And at first they were a little kind of worried about that. They think that I was doing too much what they didn't realize because they hadn't seen me every single day, like prison. But this is where I was in prison, too. But I was. It was just. I was locked in the box. I could only go so far. So when I studied, when I read things I did it with a, with a drive, as if, you know, there was something big and accomplish. When I did classes, I just focused, you know, it was a blind focus on getting that stuff done and you know, read books and all that stuff. And so I just applied those kind of, those kind of habits that I had in prison, the college life and everything I did out here. It's just, there's no barriers, so you just speed through everything. Prison, you hit balls everywhere you go and it takes so long. And here, you know, it's just like you're just zooming past and you're just like, oh, this ain't hard at all to everybody else. Like that's kind of difficult. Not really. You know, you just keep pushing and pushing. And so to my family, it was, it's been kind of a shock to them, see how, you know, fast I'm moving. And they're worried in the beginning because they, I think they were expecting a broken man to come out of that place. You know, they were expecting someone that was going to be shocked by everything where he couldn't function, you know, and rightly so, because most individuals do that. But I had prepared myself 10 years prior, mentally, emotionally, to, to deal in this moment, to deal with this moment when it came, because I knew it would. I just didn't know how or when. And so I had a plan, you know, and that plan, you know, consisted of me thinking about everything and visualizing everything. And that seemed to help because I visualized, you know, being in, in the shopping marts, being surrounded by people, and I didn't really know how I was going to react to experiencing that. But the fact that I did that, the fact that I, I, my mind was outside of that box, it wasn't really nothing, you know, I mean, yeah, I got confused over the self checkout things and I needed help for a
- [31:00]
Jack Lawrence
couple weeks, you know, everyone still needs help with those damn things. So. You're not the only one. Don't worry.
- [31:05]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Yeah, you know, and then my slow driving pissed every single, every single person behind me off, you know, but I was just going to this, you know, it said 20 miles, 25 miles an hour, then that was going, I ain't
- [31:15]
Jack Lawrence
breaking a single law.
- [31:18]
Evaristo Salas Jr
And so, but other than that, it was like, you know, it came almost. It's strange because one of my cousins today sent me a picture that we took right outside the McDonald's, right outside the prison that I went to. And it seems so far away, but it was only seven months ago. It just seems like. And I would. That was one thing I always worried about. I wondered, I was thinking that maybe is my mind going to be so affected by the 27 years that I did that I was going to be reminded of. Of that place every time I went to sleep and dreams, that kind of stuff. But that really isn't the case.
- [31:51]
Jack Lawrence
Yeah, it's.
- [31:52]
Evaristo Salas Jr
I just, I can, I can sense it and feel it, you know, but it's not like. It's not overwhelming and it's not. It doesn't even really need to be managed, you know, it's just like, you know, going to college for the first time was really strange, you know, but, you know, I always thought about that. I always thought what that feel like to be on campus, just be surrounded by a bunch of little young kids, which that's all I was surrounded with. And here I have, I have my backpack on, you know, have my. I got everything. I got all my stuff. It feels so strange because it reminds. I was, I think 14, 15 last time I went to school. And. And I almost feel like maybe I shouldn't wear this. But then I think, wait, this. There's only a convenient way I can carry stuff. I have to, you know, me. So I was like, well, I gotta play the college role, you know, I mean. So.
- [32:49]
Jack Lawrence
This is part one of my chat with Evaristo Salas Jr. Nearly eight months since being released from prison. Coming up in part two, he tells me how life has been being back in a classroom.
- [33:01]
Evaristo Salas Jr
Does everybody remember where they had during COVID And she looks at me again and says, where were you at during COVID I said I was in prison. And then I go, hold up. I gotta tell you. I gotta tell you what's going on.
- [33:10]
Jack Lawrence
And talks me through how one of the world's most famous prison movies inspired him from behind prison walls.
- [33:17]
Evaristo Salas Jr
And I remember the moment when he's arguing kind of with Red. Red's telling him hope is a dangerous thing, you know, and. And he says, says you need to get used to that. I always thought about that because you're going to be one of those two guys. You're either going to be Red or you're going to be happy.
- [33:33]
Jack Lawrence
Next time on One Minute Remaining. One Minute Remaining is a mashed pumpkin production created, hosted and produced by Jack Lawrence. Audio and sound designed by Jack Lawrence and Dom Evans of esay.
- [33:51]
Knox from Gab
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- [35:13]
BetterHelp/Grow Therapy Advertiser
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