My parents divorced when I was 10 years old with 4 years of a prior crossfire hurricane between them. During the separation and after their divorce my Dad was gone and not present in the family home any longer. My Mom had a new huge pressuring responsibility to now raise us kids on her own. Unfortunately the pressure was too great for her alone by herself that she succumbed to it all. Jimmy Keene grew up outside of Chicago. Although he was the son of a policeman and rubbed shoulders with the city's elite, he ended up on the wrong side of the law and was sentenced to ten years with no chance of parole. Keene – who now works as a consultant helping authorities profile serial offenders – was released from Springfield in 1999. But he was deeply affected by his time in Springfield, surrounded by the worst or most insane offenders in America, men with “no soul left” and no hope of release, unpredictable and violent. In a letter to his sister, Keene wrote: “The inhuman screams of the patients around me sounded like something straight out of Dante’s Inferno.”

por la presencia de James Keene. Entiendo que es una forma de darle un enfoque novedoso a la historia del asesino en serie: el criminal que se redimió aceptando ir a una prisión peligrosísima para encerrar a un asesino de mujeres. Keene became a star athlete in high school, playing football in Kankakee, Illinois. But instead of focusing on his promising future in the sport, Keene began to peddle marijuana. At age 17, he moved to Chicago to attend community college and expand his illegal trade. He later moved into selling cocaine.a b Keene, James & Hillel Levin (2010). In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781429965590. Lol, way too many to count. One particular life or death situation I got caught up in is described in chapter 5 “The Heat is On” in my new book. The country was completely dry, no marijuana could be found. I got a call from a close friend in Arizona who said that he had a connection that could get us all the marijuana we could handle. I flew to Arizona, and met the guy who ran a notorious biker gang. I made it a point for us to bump shoulders together, and as we gently bumped shoulders together I turned around and said, 'Excuse me.' I said, 'Listen' -- I said, 'I'm new here' and said, 'You wouldn't happen to know where the library is, would you?'" Keene was a former operative for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who worked to gather incriminating evidence on suspected serial killer Larry Hall. [7] Approximately seven months into Keene’s sentence, the FBI and U.S. Attorney Beaumont approached him with an arrangement that would allow Keene to regain his freedom and have a fresh start with a clean record. According to a CNN interview, Beaumont stated this about Jimmy Keene, "He's smart. He's articulate. He's not afraid. And I knew he wanted to get out." [8]

From a talented athlete who was a star MVP football player, star wrestler who mastered martial arts to getting swept up in the drug business and finally, to one of the biggest names in the business industry in the U.S., James Keene is a world-renowned novel author and producer. Keene wrote his first book titled ‘In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption’. At the time, Hall was appealing his conviction for the abduction and murder of a 15-year-old, and there was a possibility he could walk free, and they wanted to ensure that didn't happen. In reality, Keene recalls in his memoir saying, “Hey, you look cool. Do you know where I can find the library?” Hall explained where it was, and then asked: “You think I’m cool?” Keene replied that he did, making Hall laugh. Hall went every day at 2:30, he said, to read the papers, and Keene would make sure to go at the same time. Eventually, Hall invited Keene to breakfast with him and his friends – known by other inmates as the “baby killers”. My advice is don’t get involved. I know it’s easier said than done. I know it is extremely hard from concerns and needs of financial survival and extreme peer pressure, but in the end it is just not worth it. As a young man I never had a clue as to how extremely draconian the drug laws are. It never even was a thought and I suspect that most young people who get caught up in the drug business out there also do not realize how draconian the drug laws are, especially conspiracy laws.

Keene beat up a "real big buff guy" for changing the TV channel from a show Hall was watching. Trusting Keene, Hall told him the truth about what happened to Tricia Reitler, admitting that he choked her to death and buried her in the woods. It was a life-risking operation and Keene hesitated to accept. But then his stepmother informed him his father had suffered a stroke. Still, on the drive to the prison in Missouri, Keene got cold feet. "I looked at the US marshal, and I said, 'Listen.' I said, 'How do we know Beaumont's going to live up to his word?' They all assured me he would. I said, 'I'm not sure if I can do this.'"

Eventually, Hall confessed to the 1993 murder of Jessie Roach to Keene. Roach was just 19 at the time of her murder. However he refused to tell him the location of the body. I did a good deed, and I did a lot of good things," he said in the TV interview. "That's where I feel the redemption comes in. I've done something good for the things that I did wrong." James Keene is an American author, writer, executive producer, and businessman. His first book is In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption.

Ironically enough, I wanted to be a police officer, but my Dad was totally against it, so heeding that his advice left me only more confused as a young man. Perhaps I should have taken an out of state football wrestling scholarship, and seen where that would have taken me, but the reality of moving out of state and away from my thriving marijuana business, my only real means of financial survival kept me in Chicago and still on a wayward path. Was the prosecutor concerned that Larry Hall's conviction might be overturned without more evidence? Keene has since become an author and has spoken about his experience with media outlets including Dateline. He also works in real estate. In with the Devil presents the true story of a young man destined for greatness on the football field—until a few wrong turns led him to a ten-year prison sentence. He was offered an impossible mission: Coax a confession out of a fellow inmate, a serial killer, and walk free.

While Jessica Roach's case was closed, the disappearance of 19-year-old Tricia Reitler remained unsolved. To give her parents some semblance of peace, prosecutor Beaumont hatched a plan. Your latest novel, ‘The Chicago Phoenix’, tells us yet another amazing part of your life. Can you explain what drove you into the marijuana business at just 13 years old? Hall was arrested for Roach's murder in 1995 as enough evidence was garnered to convict him. He was given a life sentence.If you can get solid confessions from him, and if you can help us locate the bodies that are still missing, we're willing to completely wash your record," Beaumont said, according to Keene.