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Written by: E. George
Published July 30, 2024 @ 9:20 AM ET
COWETA COUNTY, Ga. – A man who served time in prison for armed robbery and burglary in 2005 used that negative situation to turn his life around. James White III spent two years behind bars and decided to take action and help others.
White explained, “When I went to prison, one of the things I said to myself [was] I didn’t want to be a number.” He worked diligently to become a prosecutor and a Fulton County assistant solicitor general.
He believes in targeting today’s youth and inspiring them to do good and give back. He said, “A lot of people from this community, when you say prosecutor, it’s the police. We have to teach our children to be police officers, to be prosecutors, to be legislators.”
White started an organization, the James for Change Foundation, and set up a GED testing center in July in his childhood home, a Newnan apartment complex.
He stated, “I wanted to make it where poor people, they don’t have to use gas money, they don’t have to use cars, they don’t have to have their own internet, they don’t have their own laptop.”
Eastgate apartment residents have expressed gratitude for the life-changing center. Lameisha Bell found inspiration from White’s transformation story and said, “Keep pushing. Just because you made that mistake, that doesn’t mean you can’t overcome that and do something else.”
White hopes that he can spark motivation in others to keep pushing, never give up, and consider all available options, even after serving time. He said, “Expungement is possible; restrictions are possible.
If you are in that kind of trouble, I advise you not to give up because failure is not final.”
Former Georgia Supreme Court Justice and attorney Harold Melton stated that White “represents that our past doesn’t necessarily govern our future.”