Women Behind Bars Tuesdays at 10p|9c

Shelby Carano


Inmate Name: Shelby Carano Charge: Distribution of heroin, second-degree murder Sentence: 16 years Prison: Fluvanna Correctional Center, Virginia Shelby Carano was born in 1965 and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. When she was seven, her parents separated and she lived with her father. She spent a lot of time with her aunt, who introduced her to alcohol at the age of nine. Shelby says she was a full-fledged alcoholic by the time she was 11. When she was 14, she went to live with her mother but, by this time, she was out of control. By age 16, she dropped out of school and left home, living with various boyfriends. She worked at a fast food restaurant and in a warehouse. Dissatisfied with her meager income, she became an exotic dancer. In September 1986, Shelby married and gave birth to a baby boy. But a cocaine addiction put a strain on an already troubled marriage, and caused her to lose custody of her son. In 1992, she was arrested for cocaine possession and served 10-and-a-half months in jail. After landing a job dancing at a club in Richmond, she married again and gave birth to another son. But, she claims, she caught her husband doing drugs, and the marriage broke up. As a struggling single mother, with few income producing prospects, Shelby turned to dancing again, then to cocaine, and then to heroin. Forced to leave her dancing job because of her heroin addiction, she joined an escort service. Shelby says she had a "no drugs" policy with clients but on December 11, 2003, she broke that rule, and bought some heroin for 43-year-old Stanley McMillan. Shelby injected heroin into Mr. McMillan’s arm and gave herself a dose as well. A little later, she obliged his request to inject him with a second dose. She claims she left him in the motel room, alive and sleeping. But several hours later, Mr. McMillan’s roommate found him dead on the floor. When the police arrived, they were able to trace Shelby’s number on the victim’s motel room phone, and brought her in for questioning. The autopsy confirmed that McMillan had died from acute heroin overdose. Shelby went to trial, and was convicted and sentenced to nine years for distribution of heroin, and seven years for second-degree murder. She was also charged $50,000 in fines. While in prison, Shelby has earned her high school equivalency diploma. She is deeply sorry that Mr. McMillan died, and hopes to be a good influence on others to stay away from drugs.