‘I am so proud of you!’ Barack Obama sends handwritten letter to a prisoner he pardoned in 2016 after she makes college dean’s list
- Danielle Metz spent 23 years in prison for drug offences before she was pardoned by President Barack Obama in 2016
- Metz, now 52, has since enrolled in college and completed her freshman year with a 3.75 grade average
- Obama reached out to Metz in light of the impressive news, sending her a handwritten letter saying he was ‘proud’ of her achievement
- The Louisiana mom was one of 212 prisoners pardoned by Obama during his time in office
Former President Barack Obama has penned a handwritten letter to a prisoner he pardoned during his time in office after learning she made the college dean’s list.
Obama, 57, granted clemency to Danielle Metz back in 2016 after she spent more than two decades behind bars for her role in a cocaine trafficking ring run by her husband.
Metz, now 52 years old, went on to enroll at Southern University in New Orleans and has just completed her freshman year of study.
She received an impressive 3.75 grade point average and landed on the dean’s list.
That news prompted outreach from Obama, with the former commander-in-chief sending the mom-of-two a message of support earlier this month.
Danielle Metz spend more than two decades in prison before she was pardoned by President Barack Obama. She is now on the dean’s list at Southern University in New Orleans
Obama sent Metz a handwritten message after learning she received an impressive GPA during her freshman year
‘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,’ he wrote in the message, which Metz shared with USA Today.
‘Tell your children I say hello, and know that I’m rooting for all of you.’
Metz, who is more than double the age of most of her fellow students, says she hopes to become a social worker.
She recently told The Hechinger Report that she is supremely thankful that the former President commuted her sentence and gave her a second chance.
‘I’m finally coming into my own. I made the honor roll,’ she excitedly told The Hechinger Report.
Obama granted clemency to Metz during the final year of his Presidency. He is pictured in the Oval Office in 2016
In 1993, Metz was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine among other serious charges.
During her trial, the then-26-year-old was depicted as the ‘right hand woman’ to her drug lord husband, Glenn.
However, in the years leading up to her pardon, Metz’s family insisted the prosecution had misrepresented her in court.
They claimed she was a loving young mom who was trapped in an abusive relationship with her very powerful spouse.
In 1993, Metz was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine among other serious charges. She is pictured in the early 1990s with her two young children prior to her conviction
‘My body would be bruised, and I’d act like somebody kicked me or slammed the door on me by mistake,’ she told Rolling Stone from her prison cell in 2014.
After Metz’s family petitioned for her release, their request was met by the Obama Administration in August 2016.
According to NOLA.com, Metz was one of 111 prisoners who had their sentences shortened or completely quashed in a single day, as Obama worked ‘take aim at drug laws that he deemed unduly harsh’.
Obama granted executive clemency to 1927 individuals who were convicted of federal crimes. 212 of those individuals had their sentences pardoned.
Metz (right) is pictured with family members in a recent photo. She hopes to be a social worker following her graduation from Southern