The Spy Who The Spy Who Sold Codes and Cocaine | How to Free the FBI's Most Wanted | 4
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Feb 24, 2026 Kate (Cait) Mills Boyce, a lawyer and author who fought for the Falcon and the Snowman defendants, tells a gripping legal and personal story. She recounts winning parole fights, unraveling sentencing records, and navigating blurred professional and romantic lines. The conversation covers the courtroom strategies, secret foreign inquiries, and the surprising return to ordinary life after decades in the shadows.
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How Kate First Took Dalton's Case
- Kate Mills Boyce read The Falcon and the Snowman in one night and reached out to Dalton Lee, starting a legal relationship that became friendship and later marriage.
- Her first visit to Lompoc came six months after letters, and she immediately found Dalton intelligent, disciplined, and personable.
Parole Hinged On Crime Not Prison Conduct
- Parole decisions focused less on in-prison behaviour and more on the nature of the original crime, especially espionage charges.
- Kate explains federal parole weighs the seriousness and national-security aspects, not just rehabilitation or conduct.
Film Threatened Parole But Dalton Agreed
- The Falcon and the Snowman film prompted outreach from Sean Penn and risked harming parole due to publicity concerns.
- Kate met Sean Penn, insisted she wouldn't speak without Dalton's OK, and only proceeded after Dalton agreed to cooperate.
