GREENSBORO, N.C. — Colt Johnson, 29, has never seen his mother, 42-year-old April Barber, outside of prison.
The Wilkes County woman has spent nearly 30 years of two life sentences in prison for the murders of her grandparents. Gov. Roy Cooper granted her clemency Thursday.
"I know I’m excited because it’s great news to hear that after over 30 years she gets a fresh start and to live in as an adult," Johnson said.
Johnson spoke to WFMY News 2's Grace Holland over Zoom. He grew up in Greensboro but moved to San Diego in October.
He played football at Smith High School and Appalachian State University. He also served about eight years, both active duty and reserve with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Now, he is a strength and conditioning coach for tactical members of the military.
He said he grew up visiting his mom when he could and still speaks to her on the phone daily.
"Once I became high school age, I didn’t see it as being difficult. It just grew over time and just learned each other," Johnson said. "That’s my best friend and I confide in her. I get wisdom from her. I’m sure she gets wisdom for me as well."
Barber was 15 years old at the time of the killings and pregnant with her son. She spoke exclusively with WFMY News 2's Chad Silber in 2015 from prison.
Her grandparents raised her in their North Wilkesboro home. They adopted Barber after birth because her parents couldn't care for her.
She met her son's father, Clinton Johnson in 1991. He was twice her age, but it didn't matter.
"Everything seemed perfect in my world, I was in love," Barber recalled.
She wanted to keep the baby but knew her grandparents wouldn't approve, so she devised a plan with her boyfriend.
"It was never a matter of us wanting to kill them, it was just like 'gosh, what can we do to scare them, to just get them off our back,'" Barber recalled.
The night of Sept. 4, 1991, Barber and her boyfriend poured gasoline in her grandparents' house and set fire to it.
Aaron Barber died in the blaze. His wife Lillie died days later from her injuries in the fire.
Barber had her son while in prison. His father died of natural causes while incarcerated in 1999.
Colt Johnson said his mother's past is not something he tells most people but it's not a secret.
"People that are close to me know," Johnson said. "I actually go out of my way to tell them. I’m not ashamed of it."
Johnson believes his mother has grown since she was sentenced in 1992.
"Your past doesn’t necessarily define you. It’s how you move forward from your past," Johnson said.
Governor Roy Cooper mentioned Barber's G.E.D. and paralegal certificate, both earned while in prison, when he announced her commutation.
"I think I have proven myself as far as that I have changed, that I'm not the same irrational person, and I think that my story in itself could help deter people from making the same mistakes that I did," Barber said in 2015.
The governor commuted her sentence following changes to state law that increased the minimum age to be tried as an adult to 18 years old. Barber's commutation was among the first recommended by the new Juvenile Sentencing Board.
The attorney who filed her clemency request several years ago, Don Vaughan, said he does not know of any formal opposition to it.
"There have been no petitions filed, no letters written," Vaughan said.
He expects her to be released in a few weeks.
Johnson said his mom is ready for a second chance and hopes to be there when she gets out. He said he can't imagine what it will be like to see her leave prison.
"I have no answer for it. I’ve never experienced it so. I’ve never experienced it," Johnson said.
He said he plans on helping her adjust to that new life.
"A lot of people have her back for sure. If nobody else does, then she knows that I’m right there with her," Johnson said. " I hope that she does absolutely everything that she wants to do."
Her attorney said Barber has a job lined up as a paralegal when she leaves prison.