The Convicted Killer Who Worked In The White House

The President of America is one of, if not the most protected person in the world. Billions of dollars are spent each year to ensure their safety and that of their families and inner circle. It is estimated that a sitting President has around 300 Secret Service agents to ensure their protection while former Presidents have a team of about 100.

Each person who is expected to come into contact with the President is thoroughly vetted, assessed and deemed to not pose a threat. However, America’s 39th President Jimmy Carter, flipped the script entirely.

Allowing Mary Prince, a woman who was serving a life sentence for murder to work as his daughter’s nanny, an unlikely friendship was born. It was a friendship that transcended racial, class and societal boundaries and one that led not to a story of redemption but of vindication.

This is the story of Mary Prince, the woman whose wrongful murder conviction set her on the path to meet a future President, work in the White House and successfully clear her name.

Early Life

Born in 1946, Mary Prince was the second of three girls. Growing up poor in rural Richland, Georgia, Mary had no memories of her biological father and was instead raised by her mother and stepfather who later separated when she was 9.

The following years brought greater tragedy as at the age of 12, she lost her elder sister to a brain abscess. Dropping out of school in the seventh grade to look after her younger sister, Prince would later have two sons at a young age.

Prince would find work as a domestic helper before moving to New York to take a job as a cashier. After three years in New York, where she had her second son, Prince would return to Georgia where she began working as a waitress.

Wrongful Conviction

Prince’s life would change dramatically in April 1970. Going for a night out to a bar with her cousin, Prince’s cousin and another woman had gotten into an altercation. During the scuffle, the two wrestled over the cousin’s gun. Prince, who tried to break up the fight, attempted to seize the gun herself. However, it went off and struck the woman’s boyfriend, killing him.

Although it seemed like a tragic accident, Prince was immediately blamed by the other woman for intentionally taking the gun and murdering her boyfriend. Arrested for the shooting, Prince was later taken to court. It was there where she would soon fall victim to a gross injustice.

Assigned to a court-appointed lawyer whom she had only met for the first time at the first day of the trial itself, Prince was urged to plead guilty for a lesser sentence. Under the mistaken belief that she was being charged with involuntary manslaughter, Prince was actually pleading guilty to murder. Much to her horror, she did not receive a lighter sentence and was instead given life.

In interviews long after her pardon, President Carter spoke openly about how Prince’s race contributed to the injustice she suffered. It appeared that she had been set up to fail by her white attorney and in Carter’s eyes, was only spared from execution simply because the victim of the shooting was also black.

Meeting Jimmy Carter

During Prince’s time in prison, Georgia was still practicing something known as the trusty system. This was a practice that allowed certain inmates the opportunity to work both within the prison and in state buildings. In 1971, Jimmy Carter was serving as the Governor of Georgia and Prince was assigned a job working in the Governor’s Mansion.

Rosalynn Carter interviewed Prince about her suitability as a nanny. Having taken care of her younger sister and being a mother to two boys herself, she seemed a natural fit for the job. In fact, she quickly bonded with the Carters’ daughter, Amy.

Prince herself spoke about how she did not view her role as that of a conventional nanny. Quickly forging a maternal bond with Amy Carter, the young girl would cry every time Prince had to leave. This close bond soon caught the eye of the Governor and First Lady who soon made arrangements to allow Prince to live in the mansion full-time, taking the room next to Amy’s.

Despite the trusty system’s criticisms for racial disproportionality and exploitative labour practices (for which it was soon abolished), Prince remarked how the Carters quickly bonded with her on a personal level. Seeing her as a person and not merely a prisoner assigned to labour, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter soon became convinced of Prince’s innocence. In her four years as a nanny, a friendship had been formed and despite her return to prison after Carter’s term as governor ended, Prince remained in close contact with the family.

Moving To The White House

While in prison, Prince remained close with the Carters. When Jimmy Carter won the Presidency in 1977, she was allowed to attend his inauguration in Washington DC. Wearing a dress made with material given to her by her fellow inmates, Prince was approached by Rosalynn Carter about the possibility of her returning to work as the family’s nanny. She agreed without hesitation.

Making the necessary arrangements proved to be a less than straightforward task even for a newly elected President. As she was still serving a life sentence at the time, Prince had to first be paroled. Rosalynn Carter would facilitate this by writing to the parole board while the President himself asked to serve as her designated parole officer. These measures secured Prince her parole and she was back to her old job as nanny.

Despite the close bond she had already formed with the Carters, Prince’s appointment was viewed with skepticism by both fellow White House staff and the public at large. The President and First Lady were asked to reconsider their decision by advisors who questioned both the optics and political implications of allowing Prince to work in the White House. The Carters decision was also mocked publicly and even parodied on Saturday Night Live in a sketch that lampooned the idea of a convicted murderer being allowed to work in the White House.

However, The Carters never wavered from their choice while Prince herself viewed them as close friends. To make up for the cold reception shown to her by other White House staff, Prince was given greater autonomy in her role. For example, she was allowed to dismiss the entire kitchen staff if she chose to prepare a personally made meal for the family.

She also avoided further isolation by being ingrained into the Carters’ social circle, joining their church and sitting in the same pew as the family while mingling with them in her leisure time. The Carter children openly referred to her as a family member with son Chip praising her as a close confidant and a source of normalcy during their time living in the White House.

During her time in Washington, Prince’s two sons and her sister also moved to be closer to her. Living in an apartment about a mile away from the White House. This allowed Prince to maintain a role in the daily lives of her own family as well as she was able to take a taxi to see her sons everyday.

Pardon and Later Life

Prince would spend the entirety of Carter’s four years in office in her role as the family’s nanny. During Carter’s term, the state of Georgia would order a retrial for Prince’s case. Finding her not guilty of murder after reexamining earlier evidence, she was deemed to have been unfairly victimised due to her race. She would also receive a full pardon for any role she played in the shooting.

When the Carters left the White House in 1981, Prince was a free woman. However, she remained as close as ever to the Carter family. After Jimmy Carter’s time in office, he and Rosalynn moved back to Plains, Georgia. Prince would soon join them, buying a house just a few blocks away from the former President.

A close friend and neighbour, Prince continued visiting the Carters regularly and often helped them babysit their grandchildren. No longer working for them, it was apparent that a true lifelong bond had been forged between both sides. Jimmy Carter would continue to speak glowingly of her in interviews and even dedicated his 2004 book Sharing Good Times to her.

A private woman who rarely gives interviews, Prince remains in Plains to this very day and has often been spotted at various Carter family functions including the state funerals of the former First Lady and President in 2023 and 2025 respectively.

While Mary Prince’s story does have a happy ending, it does not take away from the fact that she, like many other Black women in America have been victims of racial and legal injustice. It took an extraordinary set of circumstances for Prince’s innocence to eventually be proven when by right, she should have been allowed due process and a fair trial from the start.

Still, in one of the great ironies of life, the same injustice that almost sent her to her ruin was also the very catalyst of a lifelong bond between her and the family of a former President. If there is any argument for the presence of a silver lining in every unfortunate event, the story of Mary Prince would certainly be a top contender.