WOMAN FREED BY CLINTON TO SPEAK

Kemba Smith Vowed To Help Others If God
Helped Her Through Her 24-Year Sentence

SARASOTA -- Seven months' pregnant and facing more than 20 years
behind bars on drug charges, Kemba Smith made a solemn vow from her
prison cell.

If God would help her through the ordeal, she would spend the rest of
her life helping others.

"I would cry at night and pray and ask God for a voice," said Smith,
now 31.

After five years in a Connecticut women's prison, her prayer was
answered.

The Virginia native was pardoned by President Clinton before he left
office in 2000. She was among 62 people to receive executive clemency.
Some pardons were controversial.

Since 2001 she's been traveling in and out of the country talking to
people about bad choices that can land you in trouble, and how harsh
the criminal justice system can be.

"This should not happen to anyone else. I felt our community didn't
realize that these policies affect people this way."

Today, she will be the keynote speaker at the free "Meet Me at the
Crossroads" Youth Summit presented by the Bradenton Alumnae Chapter of
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. at Emma E. Booker Elementary School,
at 2350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Sarasota.

The event targets middle- and high-school students who likely will
confront such issues as self-esteem, peer pressure, sex, abusive
relationships, and/or drug abuse. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
and is open to the public.

Smith will talk about the country's drug policies as well as encourage
the young people to make the right decisions, love and respect
themselves, and choose their friends carefully. These are some of the
lessons she learned.

Her ordeal started when she entered Hampton University in Virginia in
1989, a young girl from a small community.

She fell in love with the late Peter Michael Hall, a cocaine dealer
and leader of a violent drug ring who beat her. In previous
interviews, Smith said she was impressed with his well-furnished,
tri-level apartment.

She was indicted by federal officials along with Hall in 1993 for
allegedly conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana. He also was
accused of murder.

Smith, who was pregnant at the time, pleaded guilty in August
1994.

Hall was killed in Seattle three months later. Officials believed at
the time that he was recruiting for his drug business.

Prosecutors determined that Smith carried money and weapons for Hall,
but did not handle or use drugs, according to reports. Still, the
first-time, non-violent offender was sentenced to 24 years and six
months in federal prison with no chance of parole. That was the
mandatory minimum punishment.

NAACP lawyers and a massive letter-writing campaign helped win her
pardon in December 2000.

A month later, she was talking to an audience in Richmond, fulfilling
the vow she had made.

"I was uncomfortable doing it, but it was me recognizing God's
blessing and being obedient to the reason why he released me," she
said. "I don't like being in the forefront because it can be
uncomfortable, but each and every time God gives me the strength to
continue doing it."

Smith graduated from Virginia Union University in 2002 with a
bachelor's degree in social work. She plans to attend law school
eventually. Her son is now 8.

Meanwhile she is working on a project to educate young people about
injustices in the criminal justice system and to motivate them to
fight for change. She is also writing a book.

Corporations sponsor her appearances at high schools and colleges, and
she speaks to battered women.

"It's just really important for, I think, young people to have a sense
of themselves," she said, "and also important for families and parents
to kind of expose the young people and children to all aspects of
life, so they can be prepared to combat the things that confront them."