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Faith

Would You Forgive a Man Who Violently Murdered Your Loved One? This Woman Did (See the Incredible Story)

Nov. 13, 2012 2:10pm Billy Hallowell

Would you be able to forgive a man who murdered your mother, father, son or daughter? This chilling question, though unpleasant, is one that countless families are faced with on a daily basis.

Many times, forgiveness is easier said than done. It’s often simpler to implore others to have mercy on those who have wronged them than it is to do the same when we face challenges and pain in our own lives. Now, gmc TV, a television network focused upon positive and uplifting music and entertainment, is taking on this complicated dynamic on in its new series “I Forgive You.”

GMC TVs I Forgive You Inspires: Watch Mary Johnson Forgive Oshea Israel

Photo Credit: gmc TV

A description of the moving program explains, in detail, its intended purpose:

An emotional, uplifting and compelling one-hour documentary series which allows individuals the opportunity to forgive someone who has hurt them or a loved one. Whether the affliction is physical or emotional – the murder of a family member, an estranged parent, or sibling, infidelity, or bullying – the series brings two parties together to try and facilitate healing, overcome hatred, anger and revenge from real-life traumatizing events. Guided with mediation and healing support from educator and therapist Angie Richey, each story will showcase the ‘forgiver’ and the ‘receiver’ of the forgiveness before, during and after an act of forgiveness.

The stories will certainly bring tears to the eyes of a great many viewers, as they show the difficult path that sometimes leads to forgiveness, while also highlighting the life-altering change that “letting go” can provide. Consider Mary Johnson’s story. Her only child, Laramiun Byrd, 20, was murdered in 1993 by 16-year-old Oshea Israel, a young boy who was involved with drugs and gangs.

During an altercation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Israel pulled a gun on Byrd and ruthlessly shot him four times (three shots to the chest and one to the head). Even at the time, Israel recalls being unable to pinpoint a reason for his senseless action.

“After me pulling out the gun and shooting I just kind of stepped outside of my body from that point,” he recalls in the gmc TV episode covering the story. “When we were in the car, I just heard people saying, ‘Why did you shoot him. Why did you do that?’ I really didn’t have any answers.”

Naturally, Johnson recalls the emotional horror she faced as a result of the crime.

“I hated him. I viewed him as an animal. He deserved to be caged,” she explained in a recent clip from the show. “And that [was] absolutely justice. That’s what I wanted.”

But at some point, these strong emotions began to simmer and Johnson claims that she could feel “the Holy Spirit speak,” telling her to pray for the young perpetrator who killed her son.

“I felt something leave me. All that junk that I had been holding onto for 12 years — it was gone,” she recalls, noting the powerful feelings she experienced upon finally forgiving Israel. ”I just knew that I was free.”

In the end, the young man served 17 years behind bars. Upon release, Johnson was feeling so charitable and forgiving that she not only invited the murderer to live next door to her, but she also became good friends with him. Now, the two neighbors regularly share their story of pain and redemotion with audiences.

Below, watch Johnson and Israel discuss their story in an episode of “I Forgive You”:

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Comments (52)

lefty5005
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 8:59pm
It is easy to forgive when you are alive. She must not have had much love for her murdered son. If forgiveness is what it takes to get to heaven then I would not be able to go. Let me blow is f……g head off then let God decide if he is worth forgiving. She should have not had the opportunity to forgive, the SOB should have been executed by now.

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- Hanner
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 9:34pm
  Every day that someone rejects God, and refuses to obey him, they trample under their feet the blood of Christ, and count it as an unworthy thing, and yet…..God is still standing there with outstretched arms ready to Love you and forgive you.
  
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- NeilChapin
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 6:18am
  It still wouldn’t mitigate the fact that he needs to die. Read fresh political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com/
  
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daxbrady
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 8:27pm
Forgiveness would negate revenge… REVENGE is better than forgiveness in these situations.

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Marsh626
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 8:20pm
How to chase sane people away from Christianity…

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Sayre
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 7:00pm
Heroic virtue is the stuff saints are made of. For the Christian, every single person on earth, by their very being, are subjects of our commanded Christian love. No act or behavior of theirs separates us or them, from that command. Nothing. Although we do have, not only a right, but an obligation to defend ourselves and other innocents. After the event, retribution is no more an individual right, than is the private right to declare war.

On the other hand, none of us are perfect, we live in a nature wounded by concupiscence. (by the way, Nature is not our mother, she’s our sister, we have the same father!) But as a logical matter of preplanning retribution, it does not serve justice. The more a person does not “deserve” mercy, the more claim he has to it. We can chose to not show mercy… but the moral mathematics of this, does not serve us very well at all. As those who do not show mercy, no mercy will be shown. Mercy tempers justice and without mercy, there is only justice… and it is a dish best served cold. Retribution and revenge, wallowing in anger and bitterness are just pseudo mask that poorly camouflage hatred. It is a rust nail planted in our soul that tears to shreds our prayers and is a daily death, a slow suicide. Always seek first the Truth and virtue, He was born on Christmas and has a Name above all names.

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- lefty5005
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 9:01pm
  Yea, say that after someone you love had their head blown off by some animal who should not have been born.
  
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Watchingtheweasels
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 6:40pm
God and I have an arrangement in such cases. He tries and judges the person in question, I arrange the meeting.

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- rickc34
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 7:01pm
  Last words of Christ on the cross…Father Forgive Them For The Know Not What They Do. That is the example to follow.
  
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RamonPreston
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 4:30pm
King David forgave those who wronged him. Of course just before his death he made arrangements for those wrongs to be righted.

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Blacktooth
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 4:06pm
Forgiveness is impossible and inappropriate for those who are not genuinely repentant of their sin.

Genuine repentance precedes any forgiveness from the victim.

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- Guitarcarl
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 5:02pm
  Silliness, you clearly don’t believe the bible.
  
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- L.B.Stephens
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 5:29pm
  Guitarcarl,
  
  What does the Bible say about sin, the need of repentance, and the act of forgiveness?
  
  Do you know?
  
  Report this comment
- hillplus
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 7:12pm
  Forgiveness has nothing to do with the perpetrator and everything to do with the victim and God. I must choose to forgive because I need it, whether the perpetrator repents or not.
  
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- Old Truckers
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 7:58pm
  Did Jesus forgive Judas?
  
  Some people cannot be forgiven because they reject the notion that they need it.
  Does Hitler warrant forgiveness if he is not repentant? He would continue in his evil course if he had his way, so why would he deserve forgiveness? He deserved to die for his crimes. No one forgave him, and that is the way it is in this world.
  I agree with Blacktooth, forgiveness must be earned, it can not be given away without repentance.
  
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- WhiteFang
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 8:12pm
  Hillplus,
  
  Proverbs 2:20 The purpose is that you may walk in the way of good people and that the paths of the righteous ones you may keep.21For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it.22As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.
  
  Does this sound like everyone wicked deserves to be forgiven?
  The only way sinful mankind can be forgiven and have life is if they repent and change their course to comply with the righteous laws and principles of God’s Word. – John 17:3
  
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- WhiteFang
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 8:21pm
  Through the ransom sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, we all can be forgiven.
  
  If we repent! – Romans 2:4
  
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justangry
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:55pm
No way would I ever forgive someone that hurt my baby girl and I wouldn’t want to.

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- FunFunFun
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 8:32pm
  Carrying all those luggages all your life will wear you out.
  
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hflndrs
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:23pm
The Lord will be the judge, I’ll send you to Him now.

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msconstrue
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:15pm
my brother was murdered earlier this year. i’ve only just finished dealing with plea bargains and sentencing. i can assure you that there is no forgiveness for my brothers murderer. i simply choose not to dwell the situation. he is the one that must live with his actions, forever.
as far as Gods forgiveness goes, all i can say is “thou shall not commit murder”. if there is any redemption after that, it is not for me to decide.

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- Elena2010
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:52pm
  Forgiveness is all about you. It’s about freeing you from the sin of another person.
  
  When you forgive, you are free.
  
  Forgiveness is anything but cheap or quick. Working thru the rage is monumentally difficult. However, it is worth the effort.
  
  As long as you hold the sin of the killer, you are trapped. It means nothing to him. Keep working and praying for the strength to forgive, not to forget or to shove it deep inside you.
  
  Report this comment
- jman-6
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 4:13pm
  Let me share this with you as I’m a victim too and know the difficulty that lies ahead for you. In 2009 my little brother murdered our mother in cold blood and I found her. After serious bouts with PTSD the LORD used the situation to draw me back to HIM! Shortly thereafter I was able to forgive him and let me tell you, it will be FREEDOM like no other! Satan uses that to snare you in and trust me anger will destroy you quickly! GOD Speed my friend!
  
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- msconstrue
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 6:12pm
  jman……God speed to you as well. i surrendered to God many years ago and i hold no hatred for anyone.
  if there is forgiveness to be had in the case of murder, it is up to God to do the forgiving.
  
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Wayn007
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:06pm
This is to the various posters who apparently do not quite understand the concept of forgiveness…forgiveness is not given because it is deserved by the person you are forgiving, forgiveness is given because you, as the victim, don’t deserve to carry the burden of hatred that goes with not forgiving and moving on. I don’t know if you identify as Christians or not, but if you do, you should know that if it wasn’t for undeserved forgiveness, we would all be in a bad, bad way. So think about this, before you talk about killing someone in revenge. Do I believe in self-defense? Absolutely. But killing in revenge is a sin.

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- Ghandi was a Republican
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:20pm
  Not revenge,,
  The Punisher: One: I leave this as a declaration of intent, so no one will be confused. One: “Si vis pacem, para bellum.” Latin. Boot Camp Sergeant made us recite it like a prayer. “Si vis pacem, para bellum – If you want peace, prepare for war.”
  Two: Frank Castle is dead. He died with his family. Three: in certain extreme situations, the law is inadequate. In order to shame its inadequacy, it is necessary to act outside the law. To pursue… natural justice. This is not vengeance. Revenge is not a valid motive, it’s an emotional response. No, not vengeance.
  
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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:05pm
And she should be made to apologize for this offense to so many Americans. How politically incorrect can one be to the Constitutionalist of ALL people, and not be expected to apologize??

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00100111
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:01pm
I could forgive, but I’d still pursue a just punishment for the person. Punishment isn’t about revenge, deterrence, or even about rehabilitation. It is punishment, and it needs to fit the crime.

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- Ghandi was a Republican
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:12pm
  Absolutely– It is the right or even obligation for those victimized to extract the remedy to see that others do not suffer from the same, or at the hands of the same offender. It is the basis of civil society. We presumably contract this duty to law enforcement.. But not willing to take it into ones own hands is like blaming the slaughterhouse for killing the meat you eat.. If you witness a rape, do you stop it? Of course you do. If you witness a break in, or an abduction- do you step in? Of course you do, or you call the contractor you hired (law enforcement).
  
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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:57pm
It’s a lot easier to forgive when they are serving a life sentence. Until then I would probably hunt him down and ‘forgive’ him another way..

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biohazard23
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:49pm
I might be able to forgive him after I shoved him into a wood chipper.

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Metallicat
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:41pm
Nope,but I would do my best to expedite his meeting with God to ask forgiveness himself.

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Uechi
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:40pm
I forgive him just before I blew his brains out.

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:36pm
The good book says we are to forgive, as many times as it takes, for this is part of the healing process; I lost my fiance in the Twin Towers and waited so long to see the ultimate one responsible have justice carried out by SEAL Team 6.

I’ve moved on since then, to dwell on the loss and the desire for vengeance is a poison that eats you alive from within; an anger without end, an emptiness that will never be filled.

She died eleven years ago, UBL is dead and fish food. I have to go forward and live life as I can.

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- TXLadyPatriot
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:13pm
  I’m so sorry for your loss. Glad to know that you’re doing “okay” and taking it one day at a time. I’m sure that your fiancee’ would agree that you should be happy and not dwell on her loss. You’ll never forget her, either. God bless you!
  
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- lefty5005
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 9:05pm
  All that money you got made it pretty easy to forgive…didn’t it. By the way your loved one either burned up or was crushed by tons of concrete and steel or maybe he had to jump to his death to avoid being burned by the ignited jet fuel. Do you think he would forgive? His life was taken away, probably in it’s prime while you go on living. Forgiveness is for the dead, not for the living and few of us know what they might be thinking.
  
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- Luisa48
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 11:53pm
  . Very well said. Bitterness makes a person go through life with an angry attitude that makes the insides rot a little every day. To forgive is to release oneself and the other one. When that is done then God can do His part, and one of those things is justice.
  
  Romans 12:19–21 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave itto the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
  
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kickagrandma
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:36pm
Seems to me we are getting that same opportunity with bho and his treacherous, treasonous crew and their continued trail of bloodshed and destruction involving our beloved AMERICA. It is not the States that should be seceding, but all those involved with this godless group who need to secede from us.

Guess what aah? you are not wanted here, and GOD IS NOT MOCKED. you are in for a hell of a time for all eternity. Count on it. Forgiveness for you??? GOD has HIS work cut out for HIM on that issue. It will come…. someday. I am not yet ready to concede the fight.

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loneindividual
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:35pm
The utter despair of a murderer with a conscience…having no future in any world but Hell.

The Elites ave no such scruples.

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paperpushermj
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:35pm
You Murder one of my or your Family, I’ll forgive you right after I put a Bullet in Your Brain Pan.

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Karama
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:34pm
Sure I would even pray for them. But I would still press for the death penalty because God never said that forgiveness would make the punishment go away.

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- paperpushermj
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:55pm
  Murder is the only crime that demands the life of the Murder in all five books of the old Testament. It’s quite clear that the act of contrition is needed before forgiveness is granted. Here lies the conundrum for Murders, their victims are not available to grant their personal forgiveness, therefore the act of Contrition is incomplete and not granted .
  
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rpp
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:32pm
It is absolutely important never to confuse forgiveness with withholding just punishment. It is perfectly reasonable to forgive a person of a grave crime, yet vigorously pursue and pressure authorities for a just punishment. Forgiveness is an attitude of the spirit and, like justice, is the exact opposite of revenge.

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- TXLadyPatriot
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 3:08pm
  That is exactly what I believe, too … Very good point!
  
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- Guitarcarl
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 5:12pm
  RPP, Well said.
  
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red_white_blue2
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:29pm
You take my child, you will pay with your life–that’s what I and my shotgun say!

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- paperpushermj
  Posted on November 13, 2012 at 5:12pm
  I Understand and agree.
  
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Minnaloushe
Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:13pm
I would *definitely* not forgive him before I shot him multiple times from the feet up. Afterwards… I dunno.

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