Judy Henderson, a mother of two, spent more than 35 years in prison after being convicted of murder at the age of 32. Now, she is sharing her story through her new book, “When the Light Finds Us: From a Life Sentence to a Life Transformed.”
Henderson hopes that her story will encourage others to persevere through hardships and show that a mother’s love for her children can never be broken.
While she was in prison, Henderson earned her GED and paralegal certification and pioneered programs connecting incarcerated mothers with their children. Henderson’s advocacy work led to landmark legislation recognizing battered women’s syndrome as a legal defense in Missouri.
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Henderson, who was granted clemency by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in 2017, recently spoke with ChurchLeaders to share more about how her faith was strengthened while she was in prison.
“At first I was very angry and very angry at God, because God is the Almighty God [who] has all the power, so I questioned why didn’t he stop this,” Henderson said. She shared that she was a Christian before being sentenced to life in prison, but her relationship with Jesus was estranged. “I got married and I was in an abusive relationship for 12 years, so I drifted away from the church,” she said.
“Being a battered woman, my addiction was love,” she said. “It wasn’t drugs, it wasn’t alcohol. I found out, through years of therapy while I was incarcerated, that I had a love addiction.”
“And I needed to address why I remained a battered woman,” she said, “why I remained in these relationships, why I attracted guys that could use me and manipulate me and I wouldn’t question their behavior.”
Henderson divorced her abusive husband to protect her children. She then found a new boyfriend who she said manipulated her into helping him rob a jeweler in Springfield, Missouri. When the jeweler refused to cooperate with the boyfriend’s demands, the boyfriend fired a gun multiple times, killing the jeweler and wounding Henderson.
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Both Henderson and her boyfriend were charged with murder but only Henderson was convicted.
Through therapy, Henderson realized that she was still angry with God. Henderson told ChurchLeaders she came to the conclusion that she had two choices. She could “get bitter” or she could “get better.” Through God’s grace, she chose to get better.
