Danielle Metz, A Prisoner of the US Drug War

In 1993, at the age of 26, Danielle Metz was sentenced to serve three life sentences plus twenty years for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. It was her first conviction. Evidence suggests that Danielle never knew that her husband, Glenn, was involved in drugs. When they married, he was 30 years old and she was 18.

A Cry for Freedom, by Barbara Mae Bernard, Danielle's mother

I will never forget the day I awoke and the DEA had kicked my door in at the home I lived in for over 26 years. I had never experienced such a traumatic and embarrassing moment. It was as devastating as I later discovered Hurricane Katrina to be 13 years later.

I am the mother of nine children. I grew up in New Orleans, LA. The farthest I had traveled from that city was to Montgomery, Alabama, when I was a little girl with my grandmother who would take two of her grandchildren to Alabama on the train each summer when school was out. We lived a pretty decent life and my parents and grandparents were a hardworking, close-knitted family as was our neighbors in the community.

Danielle is the youngest of my children. She wasn’t there on that awful day when the DEA arrived and how thankful was I, that she wasn’t. I didn’t have a clue that my daughter would be facing such a sentence, 3 life sentences plus 20 years. I have traveled for 18 years twice a year, in June her birthday month and December for Christmas, to visit her in Dublin CA. I haven’t been with my family for Christmas since Danielle’s incarceration. However, that is just one of the many sacrifices mothers make when their children are in prison.

Danielle is a wonderful daughter and a beautiful mother. She wasn’t a young girl that ran the streets and got into difficulties. She strived to do things that would please her dad and I. Of course, I always expressed my feelings about people I met and I can’t ever say I was happy about Danielle dating an older man 13 years her senior. She tried to convince me that he was a gentleman and would help provide for her and her baby boy, Carl.

This was an experience I wouldn’t wish upon any Mother. I endured family members that were trying to convince me that my youngest sister, Angela, would testify against my daughter. I loved my sister and I didn’t believe the rumors until the trial began and I witnessed her take the stand for the government. She had great influence on Danielle and I warned Danielle numerous of times to separate herself.

I was forced to retire after working at G.H. Leidenheimer Bakery for over 41 years after Hurricane Katrina. My home and all of my worldly possessions was destroyed. For the first time in my life I was displaced and living from one place and one daughter to the next one for approximately 3 years. God blessed me to move back into my home that was refurbished in November of 2009.

I have matured into my senior years and my only desire is to see my baby, Danielle, free and home to share a laugh or two with me and her children before the Lord call me home to Glory. I have kept the faith throughout this ordeal and I believe that God is going to grant me my wish. With your Help you can join us by contacting your State Senators, and representatives and asking them to eliminate the Mandatory Sentencing Guidelines that are gravely affecting the African American communities. My sincere cry is for the freedom of my daughter.