William "Billy" Hayes (born April 3, 1947) is an American writer, actor, and film director. He is best known for his autobiographical book Midnight Express about his experiences in and escape from a Turkish prison, after being convicted of smuggling hashish. He was one of hundreds of US citizens in foreign jails serving drug charge sentences, following a drug-smuggling crackdown by foreign governments.[2]
Hayes, an American student, was caught trying to smuggle four pounds (1.81 kg) of hashish out of Turkey on October 7, 1970. He was originally sentenced to four years and two months in a Turkish prison. With his release date weeks away, he learned that the authorities had chosen to penalize him with a life sentence for smuggling, instead of possession.[3]
Hayes was imprisoned at Sağmalcılar prison in Istanbul[4] after having spent one night in Sultanahmet Jail.[5] Following an incident in prison, he was transferred in 1972 to Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital, described as a 'lunatic asylum'. On several occasions, the United States Department of State pressured Turkey to transfer sentencing to the United States; however, Turkish foreign minister Melih Esenbel stated that the US was not in a position to dispute a sentence issued by a Turkish court.[6] He stated privately to officials that a release might be possible on humanitarian grounds, if Hayes' physical or mental health was deteriorating, but in a private consultation, Hayes stated to US diplomats that his experience at Bakırköy was highly traumatic, and he did not have confidence that the hospital would certify him for early release;[6] Hayes also stated that he felt attempts to win early release would jeopardize his prospects of being transferred to a more desirable half-open prison. On May 12, 1975, the Turkish Constitutional Court declared amnesty for all drug offenses, which shortened Hayes' sentence from life to 30 years; he was transferred to İmralı prison on July 11, 1975.
Declassified telegrams from the State Department indicated that in discussions between the US embassy and Vahap Aşıroğlu, Turkish Director of Consular Affairs, the latter believed Hayes would probably be released from prison on parole in October 1978, which in practice meant that a local prosecutor would declare him persona non grata and expel him from the country.[7] Hayes escaped from İmralı on October 2, 1975, taking a rowboat at night to Bandirma, blending in with locals, and then heading westbound across the border to Greece. After over two weeks of detention and interrogation to determine whether he possessed any useful intelligence about Turkey's military, he was deported from Thessaloniki to Frankfurt on October 20; after interrogation by US authorities in Frankfurt, Hayes spent several days in Amsterdam, and then returned to the United States.
Book
Hayes wrote a book on his experiences, Midnight Express, which was later adapted into the 1978 film of the same name starring Brad Davis as Hayes. The film was directed by Alan Parker, with a screenplay by Oliver Stone. The movie differs from Hayes' account in his book. Among the differences is a scene invented by Stone in which Hayes kills the prison guard Hamidou 'the Bear' (portrayed by Paul L. Smith), the main antagonist of the story. In fact, the prison guard was killed in 1973 by another person entirely, a recently released prisoner, whose family Hamidou had insulted while beating the prisoner; this took place years before Hayes' actual escape.
In 2010, in an episode of National Geographic Channel's Locked Up Abroad, titled "The Real Midnight Express",[8] Hayes finally told his fully accurate version of being sent to the infamous Turkish prison in Sağmalcilar, eventually escaping from İmralı prison on an island in the Marmara Sea. Hayes has since written the sequels Midnight Return (Escaping Midnight Express) and The Midnight Express Letters - from a Turkish Prison, 1970-1975, the latter a collection of the original letters written home to family and friends during his imprisonment.
Acting and writing
Hayes is still active in the entertainment industry, specifically acting and writing. He appeared in the Charles Bronson 1987 film Assassination, as a hired killer.
One of Hayes' successes was writing and directing 2003's Southside (later released in the US as A Cock and Bull Story) which won numerous awards, including the 2002 L.A. Drama Critics' Circle award.[9]
Hayes has been traveling the world with his one-man show, Riding the Midnight Express with Billy Hayes, since it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013.
Interview on Midnight Express film
During the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, Alinur Velidedeoğlu, a Turkish advertiser, met Hayes by chance and interviewed him on the film Midnight Express. Hayes expressed his disappointment with parts of the film adaptation, especially its portrayal of all Turks as bad, and his regret that Turkey's image was negatively affected by the film. Hayes also displayed affection for Turkey and the city of Istanbul. Although the Interpol warrant for him had by then been lifted, Hayes explained that while he wanted to return, he hesitated to do so, out of concern that many Turks might blame him for the negative publicity the movie had generated.[10] The video was made available on YouTube.[11][12]
The Turkish order banning him from the country was finally suspended and Hayes was allowed to return to Turkey on June 14, 2007, to attend the 2nd Istanbul Conference on Democracy and Global Security, organized by the Turkish National Police (TNP) and the Turkish Institute for Police Studies (TIPS). Hayes said it was important to him to return, in order to "apologize and 'make amends' – not for the book he wrote, but for the movie, scripted by Oliver Stone, on which it was based. 'The film wasn't what Turkish people deserved,' Hayes told reporters at a jammed June 15 press conference, explaining that it painted an unfairly bleak portrait of the country."[10]
^Contreras, Joe, "Busted at the Border: I'm Billy Hayes...least I used to be.", The Harvard Crimson, November 4, 1978
^. Time. April 13, 1970. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
^Quinn, Karl (March 24, 2015). "Billy Hayes: Convicted drug smuggler tells the true story behind Midnight Express". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
^INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM HAYES/CODEL MURPHY / 030925Z MAY 74, U.S. State Department, Ankara, May 1974.
^Midnight Return: The Story of Billy Hayes and Turkey. Documentary directed by Sally Sussman Morina, 2016, (01:22:35-39)
^ abHAYES CASE / 190938Z MAR 75, U.S. State Department telegram, Ankara, March 1975.
^BILATERAL AGREEMENT FOR REPATRIATION OF FOREIGN NATIONAL PRISONERS TO COMPLETE SENTENCING IN OWN COUNTRY / 091243Z MAY 75, U.S. State Department, Ankara, May 1975
billy, hayes, writer, confused, with, bill, hayes, writer, william, billy, hayes, born, april, 1947, american, writer, actor, film, director, best, known, autobiographical, book, midnight, express, about, experiences, escape, from, turkish, prison, after, bein. Not to be confused with Bill Hayes writer William Billy Hayes born April 3 1947 is an American writer actor and film director He is best known for his autobiographical book Midnight Express about his experiences in and escape from a Turkish prison after being convicted of smuggling hashish He was one of hundreds of US citizens in foreign jails serving drug charge sentences following a drug smuggling crackdown by foreign governments 2 Billy HayesBorn 1947 04 03 April 3 1947 age 75 New York City New York U S Alma materMarquette University withdrew 1 OccupationsWriter actor film directorCriminal chargeDrug smugglingSpouseWendy WestParent s William and Dorothy Hayes Contents 1 Background 2 Book 3 Acting and writing 4 Interview on Midnight Express film 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground EditHayes an American student was caught trying to smuggle four pounds 1 81 kg of hashish out of Turkey on October 7 1970 He was originally sentenced to four years and two months in a Turkish prison With his release date weeks away he learned that the authorities had chosen to penalize him with a life sentence for smuggling instead of possession 3 Hayes was imprisoned at Sagmalcilar prison in Istanbul 4 after having spent one night in Sultanahmet Jail 5 Following an incident in prison he was transferred in 1972 to Bakirkoy Psychiatric Hospital described as a lunatic asylum On several occasions the United States Department of State pressured Turkey to transfer sentencing to the United States however Turkish foreign minister Melih Esenbel stated that the US was not in a position to dispute a sentence issued by a Turkish court 6 He stated privately to officials that a release might be possible on humanitarian grounds if Hayes physical or mental health was deteriorating but in a private consultation Hayes stated to US diplomats that his experience at Bakirkoy was highly traumatic and he did not have confidence that the hospital would certify him for early release 6 Hayes also stated that he felt attempts to win early release would jeopardize his prospects of being transferred to a more desirable half open prison On May 12 1975 the Turkish Constitutional Court declared amnesty for all drug offenses which shortened Hayes sentence from life to 30 years he was transferred to Imrali prison on July 11 1975 Declassified telegrams from the State Department indicated that in discussions between the US embassy and Vahap Asiroglu Turkish Director of Consular Affairs the latter believed Hayes would probably be released from prison on parole in October 1978 which in practice meant that a local prosecutor would declare him persona non grata and expel him from the country 7 Hayes escaped from Imrali on October 2 1975 taking a rowboat at night to Bandirma blending in with locals and then heading westbound across the border to Greece After over two weeks of detention and interrogation to determine whether he possessed any useful intelligence about Turkey s military he was deported from Thessaloniki to Frankfurt on October 20 after interrogation by US authorities in Frankfurt Hayes spent several days in Amsterdam and then returned to the United States Book EditHayes wrote a book on his experiences Midnight Express which was later adapted into the 1978 film of the same name starring Brad Davis as Hayes The film was directed by Alan Parker with a screenplay by Oliver Stone The movie differs from Hayes account in his book Among the differences is a scene invented by Stone in which Hayes kills the prison guard Hamidou the Bear portrayed by Paul L Smith the main antagonist of the story In fact the prison guard was killed in 1973 by another person entirely a recently released prisoner whose family Hamidou had insulted while beating the prisoner this took place years before Hayes actual escape In 2010 in an episode of National Geographic Channel s Locked Up Abroad titled The Real Midnight Express 8 Hayes finally told his fully accurate version of being sent to the infamous Turkish prison in Sagmalcilar eventually escaping from Imrali prison on an island in the Marmara Sea Hayes has since written the sequels Midnight Return Escaping Midnight Express and The Midnight Express Letters from a Turkish Prison 1970 1975 the latter a collection of the original letters written home to family and friends during his imprisonment Acting and writing EditHayes is still active in the entertainment industry specifically acting and writing He appeared in the Charles Bronson 1987 film Assassination as a hired killer One of Hayes successes was writing and directing 2003 s Southside later released in the US as A Cock and Bull Story which won numerous awards including the 2002 L A Drama Critics Circle award 9 On June 30 2010 the National Geographic television channel aired Locked Up Abroad The Real Midnight Express Hayes has been traveling the world with his one man show Riding the Midnight Express with Billy Hayes since it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2013 Interview on Midnight Express film EditDuring the 1999 Cannes Film Festival Alinur Velidedeoglu a Turkish advertiser met Hayes by chance and interviewed him on the film Midnight Express Hayes expressed his disappointment with parts of the film adaptation especially its portrayal of all Turks as bad and his regret that Turkey s image was negatively affected by the film Hayes also displayed affection for Turkey and the city of Istanbul Although the Interpol warrant for him had by then been lifted Hayes explained that while he wanted to return he hesitated to do so out of concern that many Turks might blame him for the negative publicity the movie had generated 10 The video was made available on YouTube 11 12 The Turkish order banning him from the country was finally suspended and Hayes was allowed to return to Turkey on June 14 2007 to attend the 2nd Istanbul Conference on Democracy and Global Security organized by the Turkish National Police TNP and the Turkish Institute for Police Studies TIPS Hayes said it was important to him to return in order to apologize and make amends not for the book he wrote but for the movie scripted by Oliver Stone on which it was based The film wasn t what Turkish people deserved Hayes told reporters at a jammed June 15 press conference explaining that it painted an unfairly bleak portrait of the country 10 See also EditList of fugitives from justice who disappearedReferences Edit Contreras Joe Busted at the Border I m Billy Hayes least I used to be The Harvard Crimson November 4 1978 Americans Abroad The Jail Scene Time April 13 1970 Archived from the original on January 18 2010 Retrieved January 6 2009 Quinn Karl March 24 2015 Billy Hayes Convicted drug smuggler tells the true story behind Midnight Express The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved March 22 2020 INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM HAYES CODEL MURPHY 030925Z MAY 74 U S State Department Ankara May 1974 Midnight Return The Story of Billy Hayes and Turkey Documentary directed by Sally Sussman Morina 2016 01 22 35 39 a b HAYES CASE 190938Z MAR 75 U S State Department telegram Ankara March 1975 BILATERAL AGREEMENT FOR REPATRIATION OF FOREIGN NATIONAL PRISONERS TO COMPLETE SENTENCING IN OWN COUNTRY 091243Z MAY 75 U S State Department Ankara May 1975 1 Locked Up Abroad The Real Midnight Express Archived November 3 2012 at the Wayback Machine Riding The Midnight Express With Billy Hayes plays411 com Archived from the original on October 17 2018 Retrieved July 6 2017 a b Handelman Stephen Revisiting the land of Midnight Express Toronto Star June 24 2007 Interview on YouTube Interview Part 2 on YouTubeExternal links EditBilly Hayes at IMDb Riding the Midnight Express with Billy Hayes websitePortals United States Turkey Biography Law Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Billy Hayes writer amp oldid 1122916119, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
