He had an unexpected cellmate.
Amanda Tarver, a Miami, Florida, wife and mother of two, found out she was pregnant two weeks after being jailed on drug charges.
“I didn’t even know if I would be able to make it to full term because of my stress and anxiety levels,” she said.
The ex-convict was sentenced to 24 months after helping her husband (then boyfriend) Legend sell drugs by transferring money and receiving packages in her apartment.
“I really thought my life was over,” Tarver said. “I was in shock when they told me the verdict.”
His partner in crime was given 47 months for conspiracy to import a controlled substance.
Tarver, 34, a first-time offender, served her sentence at the Coleman Federal Prison Complex in Florida from 2015 to 2016.
While she and Legend lived in the big house, their 6-year-old son Dorian had to live with his mother-in-law, Maria.
As a young mother, she “expected to get a warning or probation” but realized it didn’t matter, “I didn’t know how to explain to Dorian that I’d be gone for so long,” she added. Said.
The couple’s love story began when they met each other at a college bar in 2012. At the time, Legend was selling illegal drugs to pay for his education and support his family.
“It took a lot to survive and I thought what were my options at that time,” he confessed. “I was the oldest sibling to a single mom and was the head of the household who helped pay the bills and rent.”
Meanwhile, Tarver didn’t think much of Legend’s side because party drugs were popular in the town where they lived, he claims.
“I was young and naive and I didn’t think of it as something terrible or really think that we could harm people,” Tarver said.
However, the law eventually caught up with the couple – landing Tarver in the clink with a baby on the way.
When she became seven months pregnant, Tarver was transferred to a special unit for pregnant prisoners, which she describes as “a warehouse with no windows and thin beds.”
She felt as if she was on an “emotional rollercoaster”, waiting for the days when she could give birth.
The young mother gave birth to Legend Jr. behind bars.
Legend admitted, “It was horrible to hear all about what Amanda was going through, knowing I couldn’t be there to take care of my wife.”
Tarver’s newborn baby stayed with her for three months before being sent to live with her grandmother Maria and brother Dorian.
Even when the two were locked up with each other, the couple remained connected through letters as their only means of communication.
“When you’re in prison, all you can do is correspond with loved ones,” Tarver said. ,[Legend and I] “We were so close yet so far away, imprisoned in the same compound but on opposite sides.”
The exchange of letters allowed them to discuss their future plans – including marriage – once they were both released.
“We focused first on getting back on our feet, finding a job, and getting back into things with our two boys,” Tarver said. “But then we looked at the bigger picture.”
The couple’s experience inspired them to start a charity called “”.300 letters”- inspired by the hundreds of letters they exchanged while behind bars.
The organization provides financial assistance for things like free family therapy, child care, and empowerment support groups to families with minor children recovering from the trauma of imprisonment.
“One issue for me was coming back from prison with low self-esteem, low confidence levels and trying to be a good parent again while building my professional persona,” Tarver confessed.
“In prison, I felt my identity torn apart – I felt like a number.”
The project was rooted in Tarver and her husband’s struggle to readjust into society after the Incarnation.
Legend shared, “We explored all the different things that we went through as a couple, as parents, and things our kids went through as well — and that’s how we created our show.” “Began to develop.”
According to the organization, the 300 letters have now helped nearly 400 families.
Legend continued, “We work to strengthen that family structure and minimize the impact on children.” “We want to break that cycle.”
“A lot of people hear about us through word of mouth,” Tarver said, “which I think reflects the number of parents who want to put their family first and live the most positive lives after this experience.” “
