My name is Michele Scott and I am serving 2 life sentences without the possibility of parole(LWOP) plus 5 years. In 1991 I took the lives of my former boyfriend Sam and his new girlfriend Elizabeth. My actions were fueled by my anger, jealousy, and obsession and were the ultimate culmination of a selfish desire to be loved and to be in control. I am a product of two hippie parents that chose their unstable and unhealthy lifestyles over me. I never had what is considered a ‘normal’ life. My parents divorced, and I lived in between the two of them. My mom turned to heroin and prostitution. We were often homeless, at times slept in a car or crashed at dope dens. She carried around a military cot and that was my bed. When I was with my father there were constant women, drug using and selling. And, I was often exposed to sexual abuse. Because of a bad drug deal, there was a hit put out on his life and he left the country. Even though I suffered abuse while in his care, that had become my norm. When he went away I felt abandoned. With my mother I also experienced abandonment, extreme physical abuse, and emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of the different men in her life. I was now in and out foster homes while my mom did her stints in jail. One of the foster families I was placed with was a very nice Mormon couple, the Colvin’s. They had a nice home, morals and values, and ran a tight ship. At that time of my life, that came to be too much for me to handle. I was so used to dysfunctionality that I was unable to adapt to their way of living. They were the only people that I have encountered that truly tried to give me stability. In my senior year of high school, I decided that I would leave their home to live with my mother again. Even though I left their home and ultimately made some bad decisions, they continue to be a positive part of my life. In 1991 I arrived at Central California Women’s Facility, to serve the rest of my life there. I was filled with anger and guilt and took it out on others, deciding to act out on staff and on my peers. I started to attend classes and workshops after experiencing unpleasant interactions with staff and realizing my bad attitude would get me nowhere. This helped me to look into myself and take ownership of my actions. Groups such as Restorative Justice Programs, Victim Offender Education Group, Bridges to Life, and gardening in my free time for over 26 years, have been life changing for me. I take accountability for my actions against Sam and Elizabeth through my involvement in victim insight and offender responsibility groups. I teach others who have committed similar crimes, how much we have hurt families and communities and ourselves. Remorse for my actions is a constant and will continue to be used for self-growth and to help others to grow. * In 2014 Michele co-founded the LWOP Support Group in Central California Women’s Facility and continues as its facilitator.