By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
Listen to Lisa Taylor's journey to freedom despite her imprisonment in a Thai jail after she and her cousin's girlfriend, Kim Hood were caught trying to smuggle 14 kilos of Heroin out of Thailand.
Hood and Taylor's story was featured on the National Geographic show, "Locked up Abroad: Back-stabbed in Thailand."
Actress Noree Victoria plays Taylor. Keisha Tillis, actress, singer and Georgia native, plays Kim Hood.
After an abusive marriage ends in divorce, Taylor finds herself struggling to raise three children alone. Hoping to give her children a better life, Taylor jumps at a chance to make $15,000 by bringing "products" to the United States via Thailand.
During her first solo trip to Thailand, Taylor invites Kim, her cousin's new girlfriend. Kim, despondent and needing a break following an incident where she shot and killed the former husband of her girlfriend after he firebombed the women's cars and assaulted Kim with a brick, readily accepts Taylor's seemingly innocent offer to travel abroad on a "nail business trip."
Once in Thailand, bizarre things occur. Taylor's "business" connections seem to be taking the young women on a wild goose chase. Then, just before the ladies are scheduled to fly back to the United States, Taylor's connection surprises her with extra "baggage" he says she must carry.
Upset, Taylor refuses. Kim, fearful that this new bump in the road will prevent her from getting back to Alabama in time for her manslaughter trial, agrees to carry the extra "baggage."
It is at this moment Kim says she realized Taylor's "business product" trip was nothing more than a cover story Taylor created to hide the fact that she was a drug mule for a Nigerian "businesswoman."
The two women head for the airport hoping to make it aboard their return flight without their luggage raising the suspicions of Customs officials. Taylor and her bag pass through airport screening unnoticed, but Kim isn't so lucky.
Within hours, both women are caught with Heroin and sent to a Thai jail.
Following their convictions in Thailand, both women spent several years in Thai and American prisons.
Today, Taylor is a college graduate and an inspirational motivational speaker. At press time, I had not made contact with Kimberly Hood, but I am hoping to set up a brief interview with her to learn where her journey has taken her since her release from prison.
Hood is a military veteran who served her country honorably in the United States Army.
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I was wondering how Kim Hood was doing because she has a health problem that was not explained on the show. So, since it was not clear if the problem was fatal or what have you. A friend of mine died for MS and I was wondering if it was an auto immune or instead some kind of thing like a disease she caught in the unsanitary prison on Thailand. I admired her for protecting her friend and did not think she should be found guilty of man slather since he hit with a brick that is likely to kill someone. It would seem that stand your ground would apply. I definitely think she was railroaded. Although on the downside it is not good to walk around with a gun, it is better to stay inside and call the police. If he comes in the house he can be legally shot. The problem may have been the location, but he was violating the restraining orders, I assume. I was looking for update on her since the story was done in 2011 and this is 2013 to see how her health was, as I really feel bad for her. Furthermore, it was easy to see those balls would have been easily detected, while Kim’s suitcase would a better chance. Most people actually get away with it, and it’s only when they do something unusual, they get caught. Only a small number get caught, I have heard. The correct plan would have been to take the bag, but then throw out the heroin before going into the screening, since she did not care about being paid and just needed to get home. I guess one thinks of all these things in hindsight, but her case is very interesting for that reason. She was not being greedy or anything, she is more innocent then guilty. A very sad story and I wish her all the best.
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