Meet Trump's SOTU special guest, Matthew Charles, who gave his life to Christ in prison

Matthew Charles was a guest of honor at the State of Union address on Tuesday Night.

The former convict found Jesus while behind bars and became the first prisoner to be released as a result of his of the bipartisan criminal justice reform bill.

The 51-year-old Charles was sentenced to 35 years in prison when he was caught selling cocaine. He was released after 21 years.

However, two years after being released in 2016, the government realized they made a mistake and ordered Charles to hand himself over again.

Counting in his favor was the fact that Charles had never received a write up during the two decades he spent behind bars.

Charles was devastated but placed his hope in the bible and his faith, and voluntarily handed himself over to serve nine more years.

The government states that due to his criminal history prior to the drug charge, he was ineligible for the early release in the first place.

His legal team argued that Charles is a functioning member of society these days and that he posed no threat to his fellow man.

Counting in his favor was the fact that Charles had never received a write up during the two decades he spent behind bars.

As reported by Faith Wire, his record was immaculate. He had a fulltime job after he was released in 2016 and was a model citizen.

Nevertheless, his sentence was reimposed, and Charles was given a month and a half to get his affairs in order before returning to prison.

His faith paid off in the end, and Charles was released again on 3 January – the first prisoner to be released under the First Step Act.

On Tuesday, Charles was President Donald Trump and Melania Trump's guest of honor at the SOTU. The House Judiciary GOP announced on Twitter:

"Matthew Charles represents a life forever impacted because of the #FirstStepAct. We look forward to seeing more stories of redemption thanks to this legislation."

President Trump invited 13 special guests to the SONU, among them an 11-year-boy who was bullied because his surname is Trump.