Susan Mellen’s Story
Imagine being arrested, charged, convicted, and imprisoned for a brutal crime. Now imagine the unthinkable – you’re completely innocent. That’s exactly what happened to Susan Mellen when she was incarcerated in 1997 after being convicted of first degree murder. Despite the hopelessness of her situation, Susan remained faithful to the Lord, convinced that He would eventually bring the truth to light. Susan told us, “I was in prison, but prison wasn’t in me. I had something greater, and that was Jesus!”
In 2007 Joni and the Daystar Singers visited Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, California. Sitting in the crowd was Susan Mellen. “Daystar gave me the hope I needed to survive,” she said. “I believed that God was going to do the impossible.” Susan clung to the hope that God was going to set her free. Writing the word “freedom” on the bottom of her shoes, she literally stood on her freedom, walking in it each and every day.
After spending 17 years behind bars, Susan finally tasted that freedom on October 10, 2014 with the help of an organization called Innocence Matters. The verdict was met with happy tears and cheers from a courtroom full of her friends and family, including grandchildren she would soon meet for the first time.
This time of transition can be very difficult for many people exiting the prison system. That’s why, with your help, Daystar gave Susan a ten thousand dollar donation to help her re-establish her life after being released. What a wonderful example of how you are reaching real people with hope when you give to Daystar!
Recently, we had the chance to catch up with Susan to see what life’s been like for her after being released – here’s what she had to say!
Q: When you were released from prison, you were finally able to meet your grandkids for the first time. How are you enjoying life as a grandmother?
A: When I was first handed my grandson Aiden within moments of my release, I was ecstatic and felt God’s love. It was an incredible spiritual experience. In that moment time stood still and I felt the total presence of God. That presence was truly a profound gift. Every time I see little Aiden I am reminded of the power and gifts of a loving God. I also have a little granddaughter on the way. My son and his wife are expecting their first child and I am excited about meeting her soon.
Q: Describe how much it means to freely hug and hold the ones you love.
A: My family could only visit me a few times in prison. At the end of each visit, I always felt a sense of loss and hurt, a deep emptiness and loneliness. Turning to God in those times is what sustained me.
Now that I’m free, it’s so amazing and it shows me the power of God’s love to be finally able to hold and hug my children as often as I want. It’s like love from heaven. It’s a whole new adventure for me to have my children again in my daily life. The freedom to connect with my children and to see them whenever I want helps me feel more complete and connected to God and his love.
Q: How have you seen your testimony impact others?
A: For those who believe, the goal of sharing my testimony is to bring glory to God. For those on the fence, I would hope my testimony would motivate them to search and believe.
While in prison I wrote “FREEDOM” in big black letters on the bottom of my shoes as a reminder to me and others to never give up hope in your quest for deliverance. Now that I’m free, God has used my testimony so that now women in prison have written FREEDOM on their shoes, and this has given them hope.
Q: What do you hope people take away from your story?
A: What I want others to take from this is to encourage them to look inward and strengthen their relationship with God, for in that relationship they will find strength to hope as I did. I also learned that the only thing prison couldn’t take from me was my attitude and with God’s help I was able to live “an attitude of gratitude.”
My faith was tested unmercifully while incarcerated and sustaining “hope” was hard for me. If it hadn’t been for Daystar feeding my spirit and nurturing my relationship with God, I truly don’t know if I would have made it. I learned from Daystar the power of forgiveness and surrendering all. Daystar gave me strength, and hope. I am so eternally grateful for the inspirational programs Daystar produces.
The greatest thing that anyone can take away from my story is to never give up hope and faith and believe that God can do the impossible.
Q: Has your experience opened doors for you and Innocence Matters to help others in similar circumstances? How?
A: If it hadn’t been for Deirdre O’Connor and Innocence Matters I would still be in prison. I believe it was the hand of God that ultimately brought her to see me that day. She listened to me, and believed, and ultimately delivered me to freedom through her organization Innocence Matters. I would not be answering these questions, or knowing the beauty of life as I do right now, every day, if it hadn’t been for Deirdre O’Connor.
I continue to share my story so that others will support Innocence Matters so that more innocent people can be helped.
Q: What’s next for you – any hopes for the future?
A: To continue my journey, to share God’s love, and to motivate others to come to know his love. I want to encourage others to have hope in all situations and trust in the only one, God, who can truly set you free from your prison of troubles, whatever they may be.
For more inspiration, and to learn more about Susan Mellen’s story, you can watch this recent Joni Table Talk episode on Daystar On Demand right here: