Because of the ghastliness of the crime—and the bitter irony of the fleeting fame once enjoyed by the Turner boys—it was the top news story in the Cleveland area for a few days back in January of 1981. The court proceedings were handled quickly; because there were two eyewitnesses, Tony and Danny were advised to take a plea bargain. And so they were each sentenced to a minimum of ten years and a maximum of twenty-five. The Grants, and in particular Kevin, thought they had gotten off too easily, but they wanted to get on with their lives, so they finally agreed with the prosecutor and the sentence was passed.

For the first year, they were held in the same part of the Chillicothe Correctional Institution and had some contact, but then Danny was moved to a unit on the other side of the prison, and they could only communicate by letter or by an occasional phone call.

Tony, in particular, seemed to mature while in prison. He realized that this was an opportunity to take a new direction once he was released, and, if he played by the rules, he might get out early. He was determined to make something of himself. While in prison, he attended anger-management classes and constantly read books on business and self-improvement. He even began to develop a sense of gratitude about his situation. He knew they had come pretty close to killing someone that night, and if not that night, it would have happened another time. He accepted the fact that they were fortunate they were caught.

He felt sorry for Danny, and somewhat responsible, but there wasn’t much he could do for him.

Danny, on the other hand, couldn’t get over the fact that the Grant kid picked that night to “sneak” into his house right before they showed up to rob the place. He was angry about his rotten luck, didn’t think life had given him a fair shake, and refused to discuss his real feelings with the prison psychologist or anyone else who might have helped him. There were a few other guys in the prison who were equally angry about their situations, and they fed each other a steady diet of resentment. They all agreed they were entitled to their bitterness because it helped them to keep their dignity, which was one of the few things they had left—and they were not about to let anyone take that away.

After Danny was relocated, Tony started to write to him to encourage him to make the best of his time in prison, and to try to admit that what they did was wrong, really wrong, and that he was lucky he hadn’t hit that Grant guy three inches higher on his head, because he would have killed him. At least now he had a shot at getting out and another chance to make things right.