Hugs from her family and her home are two of the things most on the mind of Susan LeFevre these days.
The inmate talked about serving time for a prison escape 32 years ago in a prison phone interview this week. One thing that came up often is what she thinks about doing once she’s released from prison in four months.
LeFevre was captured last April while living in an upscale neighborhood in Carmel Valley under the name Marie Walsh. The now-54-year-old was in prison for a heroin sale when she escaped in 1976 after about 14 months.
On Wednesday, a state parole board voted unanimously to release her on May 19. “I was a bit stunned. I just happened to be watching TV and found out,” LeFevre said in a phone interview with KGTV. “I was pretty exhilarated.”
She has been behind bars for nine months now. She has 11 misconducts since her capture, and if she gets any more, her release may be delayed. She feels many of the violations were because of her confusion over prison rules. Read the article here.
Still, LeFevre is focusing on laying low, getting out and seeing her husband and three children. “I just want to see my family. I just want to be home,” she said. “I can’t even get past just hugging my family. I feel like I’m never going to let them go.”
She misses her kitchen, her family room and of course, her beloved daschund who would crawl into her lap and cuddle.
She said it’s been tough most on her husband who has had to take on both parenting roles while she’s been imprisoned. “My husband works 5-6 days a week, very long hours. All of a sudden he’s faced with homework, the kids and carpools,” she said.
For years, LeFevre thought about the risk of capture every day. Now, she’s not sure how it will feel to not have that constant fear. “If I’ve gotten through what I’ve gotten through here and been able to kept my sanity and my life, I guess I can certainly deal with that, the change and it will be wonderful, it will be just wonderful,” she said.
“It’s been a year of Susan, a totally different name,” she said. “I think it’ll help because I’ll just leave this name behind and just go back to being Marie Walsh.”
“It was very difficult to be in prison,” she said. One thing that gets her through is reading, especially letters.
“I receive letters from so many people that are so wonderful. They are praying and they are compassionate.”
“Some of them are complete strangers. Some of them are people that I knew,” she said. People in this country really are caring.”
