My name is Billy Ray Talk, I’m 59 years old, and I’m sentenced to Life Without Possibility of Parole (LWOP) in the State of California. I started this sentence 68 days after I turned 18 years old and have been incarcerated for 40 years. On August 28, 1977, I turned 18. I had no home, money, and I was illiterate with virtually no prospects of stability anywhere on the horizon. On November 23, 1977, I was put into a corner while trying to help a 16 year mother and her small baby. We had no food, no place to stay, and her baby was hungry. These circumstances propelled me toward what would eventually end up being a robbery and murder. After my arrest for that crime, I took full responsibility and was then sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP). The 16 year old mother was sentenced under the same crime but has since been released for many years. At the time of my sentence, I had no idea what my sentence would actually entail. The true meaning of exactly what I would face became glaringly apparent the day I walked into the California Department of Corrections. The thought of never leaving such a place as I witnessed what was before me, drained the life I had inside of myself. Instead of giving up, I made up my mind right then and there, what would become my lifelong motto, a change for the better. That change was not just for me, but for those Ray Talk that I had hurt. After making that oath to myself and God, I then was able to not only face my sentence but I was then able to actually live it instead of dying a little more every day. I committed myself to never give up on my freedom and to be free once again. The most difficult part of my sentence is dealing with the guilt that I feel. I have greatly improved myself over the last 40 years. I’ve earned countless certificates, attended many self-help groups, but the guilt still plagues me. I took a man’s life, an innocent man that had the misfortune to be at the wrong place, the wrong time. Mr. Smith should have never died that day and me being the reason he was dead, is the biggest regret of my life. While real change is a lifelong pursuit, I am not the man I was. Nor will I ever hurt another human being again. I never sought out the comfort of drugs, the power of gangs, or the lure of violence and corruption. I chose instead to learn how to read, write, and embrace knowledge. Today, I treat others with respect and empathy, showing kindness to those around me, and focusing on what is good.