Robert with his two grandsons
Congratulations to Robert and his daughter Anna!
Message from Robert to CAN-DO Prison Outreach Coordinator, Malik King:
GOD IS GOOD! NO I DIDN KNOW THIS WAS COMING BUT I TRUSTED IN THE LORD..I’M GOING TO THE HALFWAY HOUSE…APRIL 7 16..YES I’VE A STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM…YES I SEE ANOTHER ONE OF OUR EPIC BROTHERS HAS MADE IT AS WELL..I’M HAVE TO MEET HIM AND LET HIM KNOW THAT I CANT WAIT TO MEET YOU BROTHERS IN PERSON..I BEEN DOWN 23 YEARS TO BE EXACT.GIVE AMY MY LOVE…GOD IS GOOOD…SEND ME YOUR # SO I CAN CALL WHEN I’M ON THE ROAD THURSDAY MORNING…MUCH LOVE ROBERT. P.S.. BROTHER WE GOING TO WORK TOGETHER..THIS MESSAGE IS NOT GOING TO STOP..I’M A MENTOR FOR LIFE!!!!
Name: Robert Anderson 02995-033
Sentence: Life sentence
Incarcerated: 23 years All my adult life
D.O.B: 11 -6-69
Age: 46 years old
Children: 1 child – Anna reynolds
Charges: Conspiracy to possess,Count two. adiing and abeding, (Reverse sting)
Arrested: April 3, 1993
Priors: Two priors minor drug offense’s I was 18 years old at the time.
prison conduct-2005 concering a dangerous weapon non violent
smoking marijuana 2009 Just found out my father was diagonesed with cancer.
Prison Facility: FCI Memphis, Tennessee
Robert Anderson walked out of prison on April 7, 2016 and while driving with his daughter, Anna, called Malik King to thank him for being a good friend over the years. Malik looped Amy Povah in and has written the following about Robert’s first few hours of freedom.
According to Malik King:
Around 11:51 am, I woke up , grabbed my cell phone and it rang, which startled me. On the display was a 859 area code with no name attached. I usually never answer these kinds of calls because when I do sleep I’m never up that early in the day, but something told me to answer it and I’m glad I did because I heard a strong, masculine voice say “Is this Malik”?
I said ‘yeah whodiss.” I was not prepared for the response:
“Malik, this is Robert Anderson from FCI -Memphis. I’m FREE Malik, I’m FREE brother and I’m driving down the highway taking it all in, looking at my lovely daughter whom I haven’t seen since she was 3 years old and now she’s 27 Malik can you believe that man”.
Robert tried to describe what it felt like to be out, and said it actually felt normal because he never lost touch with society while he was down and he read everything so when this day came he wouldn’t feel out of place when he stepped back into the world.
He said he’d been to the gas station, purchased items, and paid for the gas. When he spoke to a woman and said “Hello, good afternoon,” her friendly response of: “Hello, I’m fine how are you doing” blew his mind because he hadn’t spoken to a woman in 24 years aside from a prison guard.
He was very, very happy and I could hear the energy in his voice when he told me that I was the first person he called when he got out after getting my # from brother Phil in the Mentors for Life Group at FCI-Memphis.
Anna made this video for CAN-DO only weeks before Robert received clemency
Robert told me how great it was to have Amy of CAN-DO and I in his life and when I asked him how he knew Amy, he told me – “Malik, remember that email you sent out asking for our information if we didn’t hear from our assigned attorneys to email you and you’ll send it over to Amy? well that’s how I know Amy – through you and that email”. So that blew my mind cause the brother had (2) life sentences and how he was in the free world, talking to me with no worries about that beep and annoying voice reminding you that you’re on a call from a federal prison every few minutes. I speak to a lot of women from all walks of life and I ALWAYS tell them about you and the others because they have no clue about federal prison. So Robert says ‘Yo Malik tell Amy thanks for everything okay’? So I said “Let me call Amy and you can tell her”. So the first time I called Amy, there was no answer so I waited a while then called her back. Now check out how things happen. Pay attention! I called Amy and said ‘Yo Ames I have someone on the phone that you’re gonna love me for calling you to talk to’. So Amy says to me “Who is it Malik” and I said “I can’t tell you” and when I brought Robert on the phone all I said was “Go ahead, there’s Amy” and as soon as Robert said “Hello Amy, I love you and thanks for everything” Amy said “Robert Anderson? OMG you’re freeeeeee OMG this is too much, OMG I can’t believe this – how are you doing?” So Amy and Robert chopped it up for a while as I laid back and took it all in because I was in disbelief also. So Robert went on to tell Amy how thankful he is for people like us, and how he wants to be a vessel to help others left behind. Amy was in total shock/disbelief and after they talked for a while Amy wished him well and told him how great his daughter is and what a great job she did in the video.
Amy had to run so Robert and I talked more and he told me that what I’m doing is amazing because it’s all for love and he told me about how others before me all had an angle to get prisoners to send money here and there; even lawyers looking to come up at the expense of vulnerable prisoners. He went on to tell me how he and the others at FCI-Memphis always look forward to 6am to go to the computers and read my emails, print them out for those that don’t have the $ to print or read them, so those that did would print them, make copies and share them with everyone on the compound and how they use the material in the Mentors For Life Group there and how my name rings bells all over the compound. Of course hearing all this from Robert was blowing my mind and made me inhale deeply. I told Robert like I’ve told you possibly that how I can never wrap my head around what’s so great about what I’m doing and like many others before him, he explained the importance of what I’m doing to me. Robert wanted me to tell all of you especially his brothers at FCI-Memphis that he feels like Lazarus and said for me to tell Phil, Hot Rod and the rest out there in Memphis that he’s going to be hard at work with Amy and I doing any and everything he can do within his power to help. He said his days of working for the Devil are over because it cost him 24 years of his life and not seeing his lovely daughter and now he is a Gangster for God. I told my dude to go ahead and enjoy the time with his daughter and grandchildren who were fighting in the back seat before he gets to the half way house and to get at me when he get’s settled. Robert told me to keep on doing what I’m doing because the brothers/sister on the other side need me greatly and he told me that he loves me and will be in touch.
This is what this work is all about!!! I wish every day I could get a call from someone like Robert and I pray there will be many more calls like the this one.
