Michelle
(interview conducted by Barry Smith, Regional Director (TN, North GA) and MINTS Prison Theological Education Coordinator)
Michelle’s father began the sexual abuse when she was four years old. She got pregnant by her father when she was 12. By the time she was 18, she had four children.
After discovering that a boyfriend’s father had molested her daughter, the trauma of her childhood resurfaced. Michelle confronted her father, and he threatened Michelle with a gun. A while later, Michelle picked up the gun her father had left on the table and, in what she describes as an out-of-body experience, used it to shoot him. After being told that none of her father’s bad acts could be presented in court, Michelle agreed to plead guilty to murder and accept a 25-year sentence.
In prison, Michelle started going to church services. There, a woman told her, “I love you a whole big bunch and Jesus loves you a whole big bunch too.” Michelle began to understand the gospel and became a true Christ-follower.
Not long after starting her journey with Christ, Michelle got her first mentor. Having a mentor made a huge difference in her life. Michelle said, “The average prisoner has no one who writes, no one who visits, no one who cares anything about her. You give up. If no one cares about you, why care about yourself?”
Her mentor showed up. She loved Michelle and treated her well as a valued friend, which gave Michelle hope that she could do something with her life.
Michelle earned her GED and an associate’s degree from Lipscomb University. She became a leader in the prison. She worked in the law library, represented other prisoners before the disciplinary board, and gave orientation talks to new prisoners.
Michelle said of her Metanoia Prison Ministries mentor, “I knew she loved me. I never doubted if she would be there. She was there the day I left prison. When it didn’t work out at the halfway house I was in, she invited me to live with her family. We still talk every day.”
In 2018, the governor commuted Michelle’s sentence, and she was released after 16 years in prison. She now works as a church receptionist and hopes to continue her education and become a counselor.