Contrite over her attempt to smuggle heroin out of Bangladesh, an American woman says her 4 1/2 years in a rat- and roach-infested prison should serve as a cautionary lesson for others.
"Don't take the risk," Eliadah "Lia" McCord said Wednesday after her arrival at Dulles International Airport with the congressman who helped secure her release.Although McCord long had maintained her innocence, telling prosecutors she was duped into smuggling seven pounds of heroin out of Bangladesh, she acknowledged Wednesday that she had willingly agreed to carry the drugs in exchange for $10,000.
"I wanted to go to college, I wanted to help out my family," she said.
Arrested in 1992 and sentenced to life imprisonment in mid-1993, McCord was pardoned this week by President Abdur Rahman Bis-was after behind-the-scenes negotiations with U.S. officials. McCord was the first U.S. citizen sentenced to life imprisonment in Bangladesh.
She thanked the U.S. Embassy, the government of Bangladesh and Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., for securing her freedom. Richardson, who traveled to Bangladesh earlier this year to intercede on McCord's behalf, flew there this week to escort her home.
As he, and reporters, looked on, she was reunited with her mother in an airport conference room.
Richardson described the release as "humanitarian."
"She made a mistake at 18 years," he said, adding that McCord's cooperation with law enforcement resulted in the arrests of several drug traffickers in Bangladesh. "She was a model prisoner," Richardson said. "She's suffered enough."
The one-time honor roll student was arrested while trying to fly out of Dhaka, the nation's capital, with four packets of heroin concealed beneath her flowing dress.
She pleaded not guilty, saying a Nigerian man she had met during her two-week visit compelled her to carry the packets. She testified she did not know they contained drugs.
A special court convicted and sentenced her and the Nigerian, Robert Blankson, to life imprisonment. Unlike McCord, Blankson did not appeal his sentence.
McCord warned other young people not to take the risk she took.
"They'll flash the money in front of you . . . but they never mention the low side," she said. "`I have lost 4 1/2 years."
McCord and her mother planned to return home to Houston on Thursday.
As a foreigner, McCord was given a separate cell at the Dhaka Central Jail, where she spent her time reading and studying. She took lessons in Bengali, Urdu and Arabic languages and also studied Islam. She said she hopes to go to college and become a linguist.