Kamiyah Mobley is asking a judge to show mercy to her kidnapper – Gloria Williams, who stole her as a newborn in 1998 and raised her.
Williams was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in June 2018 for kidnapping Mobley from University Medical Center (now UF Health Jacksonville) in July 1998 while posing as a nurse.
The kidnapping sparked a months-long search for the child and her abductor, making national headlines. In January 2017, police arrested Williams at her home in Walterboro, S.C, after finding 18-year-old Mobley, living with the name Alexis Manigo.
Williams pleaded guilty to kidnapping and interference with child custody and was sentenced to 18 years of prison. In December, the guilty woman filed a motion in Duval County, Fla., to have her 18-year prison sentence cut in half and included a letter from Mobley in her motion.
According to a court filing obtained by the local Jacksonville, Fla. station WJAX, the handwritten letter from the 23-year-old read in part, “I am writing this letter in support of my mother, Gloria Williams. I would like to make it very clear that she is my mother. She raised me, and not only provided for my needs, but she loved me unconditionally.”
“I had a well-rounded life, and I am an independent, college-educated, and deeply spiritual person because of all my mom gave me,” Mobley continued. “I am fully aware of how our lives came to be, what they are, and how my mom came to be my mom. I need my mother home.”
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According to First Coast News, Williams cited community service and faith and character classes she has taken while incarcerated. She also told the judge she is pursuing her master’s degree in Business Administration and has been a model inmate.
“I have a new perspective on life as a result of my experiences while incarcerated. Rehabilitation within the Department of Corrections comes only to those who sincerely desire to strive for self-betterment and change,” Williams wrote in her motion.
“I realize what the devil meant for bad. God is turning it around for his good. As for my daughter, Kamiyah, and the rest of my family, friends and community, they are all still very supportive of me,” Williams added.
“What I see happening is Kamiyah bringing her biological family to South Carolina to introduce them and to spend time with my mother, her sisters, nieces, and nephews. Everyone is coming together to give Kamiyah the best of both worlds and to bring her life into fulfillment,” Williams continued.
There has been no decision to reduce Williams’ sentence, and no future court dates have been scheduled.
