‘I’m So Proud Of You’: Obama Pens Letter To Former Inmate He Granted Clemency Who Went Back To College After Prison

Forever President Barack Obama wrote a handwritten note to a former inmate he freed from prison, congratulating her for making the Dean’s List at Southern University.

According to USA Today, Danielle Metz was a 26-year-old high school dropout when she was sentenced to serve three life sentences, plus another 20 years for her alleged involvement in her husband’s cocaine operation in 1993.

Despite her lengthy sentence, Metz and family members continued to fight for her freedom. While in federal prison, she earned her GED and began writing appeals for an early release. After she had spent the last 23 years behind bars, Obama granted Metz clemency in 2016 and gave her a second chance at life.

Following her release, at 50 years old, Metz enrolled in college Southern University in New Orleans to study social work. Metz told The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news organization that reports on education that she wishes she could thank Obama for all that he’s done.

“You don’t know what you did for me. I’m finally coming into my own. I made the honor roll,” Metz said.

In heartwarming fashion, our forever president responded a few days later with a handwritten note, obtained by USA Today.

”I am so proud of you, and am confident that your example will have a positive impact for others who are looking for a second chance,” Obama wrote. “Tell your children I say hello, and know that I’m rooting for all of you.”

Setting an example is right! Metz has reportedly excelled academically and in her second semester of college, she earned a spot on the Dean’s list with a 3.75-grade point average.

Retonjah Burdette

Retonjah Burdette is a publicist and published content curator from Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving her Bachelor’s in Public Relations from Georgia Southern University in 2017, Burdette then went on to get field experience with one of the top entertainment PR firms in Atlanta. Since the start of her career, Burdette has worked with a number of actors, authors, entrepreneurs and independent artists. She has secured placements on media outlets such as TV One’s Sister Circle, Good Day Atlanta on FOX, V-103, CBS 46, Kontrol Magazine, KISS 104.1 and Rolling Out to name a few. In addition to her growth in PR, she is currently a writer for Baller Alert, a top platform for news and entertainment. In hopes of bringing the visions of others to life, she launched Girl Avant-Garde in 2019, a creative agency specializing in innovative content, branding and PR in entertainment. Her overall goal is to have autonomy over her creative thought process and to teach branding to new entrepreneurs and others pursuing a career in the public eye.

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