Sometimes kindness can be found in the most unexpected places.
Superior Court Judge Carl Fox, who is battling blood cancer and in need of a bone marrow donation, recently received a letter from an inmate he helped put behind bars, WRAL reported. The inmate, 62-year-old Charles Alston, wrote to Fox and offered to be his donor. Fox was the district attorney during Alston's trial.
Due to the risk of infectious disease, inmates are not allowed to be on the donor registry, so Alston was unable to be Fox's donor. Nevertheless, the judge was touched by his gesture.
“He had every reason to be angry with me, given where he is and the sentence he was given,” Fox told the news outlet. “It means even that much more he did that given the circumstances.”
Fox, 61, a judge in North Carolina, was diagnosed with blood cancer in April, ABC 11 reported. A local coffee shop held a bone marrow donor drive called “Save the Fox” to help set the judge up with a match, which he has yet to find.
But Alston’s letter, which came in July, is a welcome surprise for Fox amid his battle with the disease. In the letter, Alston wrote:
"You were the District Attorney during the course of my trial, where I received a 25 year sentencing … There is no hatred or animosity in my heart towards you ... 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."
Alston, who is serving his 25-year sentence for armed robbery at Franklin Correctional Center in Bunn, North Carolina, has sent his prayers to the judge for a healthy recovery.
The inmate believes Fox may have saved his life by putting him in jail, so he wanted to pay him back by offering to help with the potentially lifesaving procedure.
“I had a lot of hate for Mr. Fox because he sentenced me to so much time, but I come to church a lot, I found God. So, I thought maybe if I could do something for someone else, I'd do it,” Alston said, according to WRAL.
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