PRISON FELLOWSHIP: Mary Kay Beard

As Prison Fellowship Angel Tree turns 40, the legacy of one former safecracker is irrefutable proof of the potential that’s behind bars, just waiting to come to light.

In high school, Mary Kay Beard placed at the top of her graduating class. A few years down the road, she was on the FBI's top ten most-wanted list.

On August 9, 1976—two years to the day that President Richard Nixon resigned from as President of the United States—Charles Colson founded Prison Fellowship. The former Nixon adviser, who spent seven months in a federal correctional facility after pleading guilty to Watergate-related charges, left prison a changed man, committed to “remembering the prisoner” and honoring the God-given value and potential of every person affected by crime and incarceration.

By the time she turned 27, Mary Kay Beard had established herself as one of the most notorious criminals in the country. Along with her husband, Mary Kay was wanted in four states for a string of bank robberies and was the target of a mafia “hit” for double-crossing the mob on a diamond heist.