Two years after her daughter was shot to death by a classmate in a
school bus, her mother Ady Guzman-DeJesus faced her daughter's killer,
Jordyn Howe, in court.
But what she did then is something that most people have a hard time to understand.
She went up to Jordyn, gave him a hug, and agreed that he should get a lower sentence.
It can be difficult to imagine how a parent could hug the person who had shot your child to death, but Ady saw an opportunity to give this young teenager a chance instead of putting him behind bars for lifetime from what seems to have been an accident.
So what was it that actually happened?
It seems that Jordyn had taken his stepfather's gun to school and accidentally shot Ady's daughter. He was showing the gun to his friends on the school bus when he accidentally shot Lourdes in the neck which led to her death.
At first, Ady wanted to put the boy behind bars for the rest of his life, but changed her mind when she realized that Jordyn was actually just a kid at the time and had his whole life in front of him. What Ady then came up with was to offer him an opportunity, a way to redeem himself.
After Jordyn has spent one year in prison, he will be touring around Florida together with Ady talking about the dangerous of carrying weapons and their tragic story.
Ady's decision show how amazingly forgiving people can be, and even if some people can't understand or agree with her decision, being forgiving might be the only way to get over something like this.
We admire Ady for her courage and divine ability to forgive.
Rest in peace Lourdes.
But what she did then is something that most people have a hard time to understand.
She went up to Jordyn, gave him a hug, and agreed that he should get a lower sentence.
It can be difficult to imagine how a parent could hug the person who had shot your child to death, but Ady saw an opportunity to give this young teenager a chance instead of putting him behind bars for lifetime from what seems to have been an accident.
So what was it that actually happened?
It seems that Jordyn had taken his stepfather's gun to school and accidentally shot Ady's daughter. He was showing the gun to his friends on the school bus when he accidentally shot Lourdes in the neck which led to her death.
At first, Ady wanted to put the boy behind bars for the rest of his life, but changed her mind when she realized that Jordyn was actually just a kid at the time and had his whole life in front of him. What Ady then came up with was to offer him an opportunity, a way to redeem himself.
After Jordyn has spent one year in prison, he will be touring around Florida together with Ady talking about the dangerous of carrying weapons and their tragic story.
Ady's decision show how amazingly forgiving people can be, and even if some people can't understand or agree with her decision, being forgiving might be the only way to get over something like this.
We admire Ady for her courage and divine ability to forgive.
Rest in peace Lourdes.