A Boy's Life

Limon has thought about what he wants to do after he's released from prison. "I wouldn't mind studying music and storm chasing," he said. "When I was little, the third time we had a good thunderstorm come in, my mother couldn't keep me in the house, I sat on the porch and watched it all. I'd been doing that since I can remember, real young ... I want to find a job, maybe with my uncle, do something with my music, and go to school. My uncle has a sheep farm, a couple of them, and I might help him out with it someday."

Hayden says that if her nephew is released as a result of the appeal, he would be able to lead a normal life eventually. "I think they don't give him enough credit," she says. "They say he's not smart, but I think he is. He has an excellent talent. He's unreal at the piano. I think he could live on his own once he got adjusted. I really think he could."

The people who knew him in his hometown stand by the good memories they have of Limon.

"We're raising grandchildren, they're younger than Matt, and Blanche's kids would be over here with Matt and they'd all play," Sharon Kisker says. "I never worried about Matt [being around my children]. I knew he was different, slower. And maybe I didn't know Matt as well when he became an older boy, but I certainly knew his folks. Last time I saw Matt, his dad was working with the horses at my house and Matt was with him, and he had his hair in cornrows. And Mike was certainly not that kind of person, but he would never let on that it bothered him. It must have been right before Matt went to prison. In my mind, he did get an unfair sentence, but you know, what am I?"