A former drug dealer is now an attorney after he was sworn in before the same judge who encouraged him to do more with his life.

When Ed Martell, from Inkster, Michigan, was 27, he stood in front of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Morrow as a drug dealer about to be jailed for multiple years. Now, sixteen years later, Martell has completely transformed his life, as he was sworn in before the very same judge as an attorney.

Back in the early 2000s, Ed was a high school dropout trying to make ends meet by selling drugs. Following several run-ins with the law, he was expected to be put behind bars for up to 20 years. However, Morrow decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and gave him a different sentence. As UNILAD reveals, in addition to the three years probation, the judge challenged Martell to change his life.

Speaking to FOX 13, he recalled:

“I fell victim to my environment, I guess I could say, and then it became a trend. I started hanging around with the wrong crowd, I got intertwined with the drug culture.”

Inspired by Morrow, the then 27-year-old decided to take his life in an entirely different direction.

Martell explained:

“He challenged me, and he said, ‘Mr. Martell, I dare you to be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, instead of out here selling drugs’.”

Dedicated to change his life, Ed went back to school at Wayne County Community College. What is more, he got a scholarship to law school at the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Despite his troubled past, Martell became passionate about pursuing a law career. However, due to his past crimes, he was not permitted to become a qualified lawyer. Luckily, the State Bar of Michigan allowed him to become an attorney.

And as fate has its ways to point us in the right direction, Ed was sworn in by the very same judge that motivated him to change his life for the better. Morrow commented:

“He’s like so many of the other people that come in front of us. They are talented, they’re brilliant, they have abilities and skills that, if you were not looking to make people’s lives better and connect with them, you were only going to see the person and the offense that they’re charged with. 

I tell them you were sent to me – this isn’t random, you’re not in a place by coincidence, you’re here for a purpose… it doesn’t matter what your past was, it doesn’t even matter what your present situation is, I would say just shoot for the stars.”