 Kenzi Snider, an American exchange student who was studying in Korea, was charged with the 2001 murder of a fellow American student in Itaewon, Seoul. Facilitated by a criminal extradition treaty between the United States and Korea, Snider was summoned here to face a trial, then pronounced not guilty in both the first trial and the prosecutors' appeal. Now, despite one and half years of prison life in both the United States and Korea, Snider, 22, is surprisingly cheerful.
¡°The past three years have been very hard but I never thought once of giving up," Snider said. "I thank my mother, who went in and out of prison in a foreign country asking for people to help me, and the Korean lawyers who were busy to prove my innocence, and the volunteers from religious groups who provided me with shelter after my release from prison. I am here today to thank them.¡±
When asked about her life in prison, she said that the past few years were a run of
"terrible days.¡±
¡°It was Dec. 20 of last year when I was first put in a Korean prison," she explained. "I was cold and shivering in a private cell, when an elderly lady in the next cell said, ¡®You young thing, how frightened and tired you must be!¡¯ and gave me her blanket. I was so thankful, I just cried and cried.¡±
When asked if she would ever come back to Korea again, Snider said, ¡°That's a ridiculous question. I have a lot of debts to pay to the Koreans that helped me prove my innocence and provide me with a place to rest. I will come back.¡± Then, after a moment, she said, ¡°But I don¡¯t want to go to Itaewon.¡±
(Shin Ji-eun, ifyouare@chosun.com )
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