- Playing
- StoryCorps Griot: Mary Johnson
- From
- StoryCorps
Mary Johnson's son, Laramiun, was shot and killed by Oshea Israel in 1993. Israel served 17 years in prison.
Here, Mary talks with her son's killer.
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Piece Description
Mary Johnson's son, Laramiun, was shot and killed by Oshea Israel in 1993. Israel served 17 years in prison.
Here, Mary talks with her son's killer.
Broadcast History
NPR ME 5/20/11
Transcript
Mary Johnson (MJ): You and I met at Stillwater Prison. I wanted to know if you were in the same mindset of what I remembered from court, where I wanted to go over and hurt you. But you were not that 16-year-old. You were a grown man. I shared with you about my son.
Oshea Israel (OI): And he became human to me. You know, when I met you it was like, ok, this guy, he’s real. And then, when it was time to go, you broke down and started shedding tears. The initial thing to do was just try and hold you up as best I can--just hug you like I would my own mother.
MJ: After you left the room, I began to say: "I just hugged the man that murdered my son." And I instantly knew that all that anger and the animosity, all the stuff I had in my heart for 12 years for you--I knew it was over, that I had totally forgiven you.
OI: As far as receiving forgiveness from you--sometimes I still don'...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:It's Friday morning, time for StoryCorps.
The project that records conversations between loved ones and friends.
Today -- we'll hear from two people who could very easily have been enemies.
As a teenager, Oshea (Oh-SHEA) Israel was involved with gangs and drugs.
One night at a party he got in to a fight with another boy -- and killed him.
Oshea is now thirty-four -- and has finished serving his prison sentence for murder.
He came to StoryCorps with Mary Johnson, the mother of the boy he killed.
OUTRO:Mary Johnson with Oshea Israel at StoryCorps in Minneapolis.
Their conversation will be archived along with ALL StoryCorps interviews at the Library of Congress.
The project's podcast is at NPR-dot-ORG.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flax | Fredrik | Trilogi. | Kora Records | 2010 | 00:17 |
Additional Credits
The Corporation of Public Broadcasting and Principal Financial Group
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