Inmate Writes Letter Offering to Donate Bone Marrow to Judge Who Put Him in Jail
Superior Court Judge Carl Fox has blood cancer. The 61-year-old former district attorney for Orange and Chatham counties in North Carolina is searching for a bone marrow donor, WRAL News reported. Many people have stepped up to help with Fox’s search by organizing and attending donor drives to help find a match on the “Save the Fox” Facebook group. The judge knows that the odds of finding a donor are slim, but hopes to raise some awareness and is touched by all the offers of help he’s received.
One of these offers of help came from an unexpected place — an inmate named Charles Alston who is serving time at the Franklin Correctional Center in Bunn, North Carolina. Alston offered to donate his bone marrow to Fox if he were to be a match.
Fox was the District Attorney who prosecuted Alston during his armed robbery trial that resulted in his 25-year sentence. Despite this, Alston says he harbors no ill will for Fox.
“There is no hatred or animosity in my heart towards you,” Alston wrote in a letter to Fox. “I know you are in need of a matching donor for bone marrow. I may or may not be a match, but would have been willing to make the sacrifice if needed.”
In fact, Alston believes that Fox may have saved his life by putting him in jail where he has turned his life around, and so he wanted to save Fox’s life in return, WRAL News reported. Unfortunately, inmates cannot be donors because of the increased risk of infectious disease, but Fox was still very touched by the gesture.
“I was very touched by it … totally surprised,” Fox told WRAL News. “I never thought Charles Alston would’ve written me and offered me the right hand of fellowship and offer to do something to save my life. He had every reason to be angry with me, given where he is and the sentence he was given. It means even that much more he did that given the circumstances.”
Visit Delete Blood Cancer to learn more about becoming a donor and join the “Save the Fox” Facebook group for information on upcoming donor drives.
h/t Reddit Uplifting
Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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