Against all odds, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. He completely changed my life.

Even though my son was conceived in the most traumatic possible way, his birth was my saving grace. Suddenly, I had a little human to care for, and I became consumed with ensuring that he had the best possible life. He changed my whole understanding of who I wanted to be: I started to see that I was a person who could grow, and change, and live again.

Another life-changing figure also appeared in my life during this time, after a prison guard contacted the ACLU and told them about my case. They sent me an attorney named Clayton Blackstock, who over the next 25 years helped me place my son with a good family, got me decent medical care when I became sick, and ultimately fought for me to get a second chance in society.

I was denied clemency five times. But in 2017, an Arkansas law was passed that allowed me to be resentenced because I committed my crime as a minor — and by that December, suddenly, gloriously, I was released from prison.