Seventy-four-year-old Mary Jones probably believes that patience is perhaps one of the greatest virtues to have. After all, she had to practice patience while waiting to be freed from prison.
In 1981, Mary was convicted of first-degree murder, and given a life sentence. She had fallen in love with a criminal, but she didn't know this until he killed a man during a drug deal. Mary was forced at gunpoint to drive him to the location before he committed the crime that she was then accused of.
She had already spent years behind bars when, in 2006, her case was reopened by the law students of the University of Southern California, who argued that Mary had no choice but to be involved in the crime. A judge heard the argument, and eventually released Mary from jail much to the delight of her entire family — 32 years after she was wrongfully convicted.
Mary Jones is thankful that she can now spend time with her children and her grandchildren. The grandmother has a lot to catch up on, including getting her a valid state ID at the DMV!
But just because her family wasn't with her for those days behind bars doesn't mean that she didn't have a family in jail. To other inmates, she was known as "Mother Mary." She had even created a Bible study group during her time in prison. But Mary says she learned a valuable lesson: patience.
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