Rounds' family and his lover in Philadelphia wire him money. To pass the time, he paints portraits of inmates, more than 200 so far, which he hopes to exhibit once he is released. But freedom is elusive. They take my money, then I never see them again. In Honduras, trials are conducted mostly on paper.
Attorneys present written arguments, and the constant exchange of paperwork can last for years.
Rounds' family sometimes seeks advice from a Philadelphia lawyer, but he can't do much more than stay in touch with the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa. The group represented Billy Hayes, whose years in and escape from a Turkish prison were chronicled in the movie Midnight Express. Rounds hopes to return home, to his job of 12 years as a music therapist for emotionally disturbed children. A 20-year employee of the Philadelphia public schools, he is on an indefinite unpaid leave. Kwiatkowski, meanwhile, says he has mixed feelings about his role in Rounds' arrest, especially after learning that Rounds was severely beaten by other inmates in mid-April.