Spirit of forgiveness brings woman, her son’s killer together

The event Wednesday marks the 55th anniversary of lunch counter sit-ins in Rome.

Wednesday marks the 55th anniversary of the civil rights sit-ins at the lunch counter in the G.C. Murphy Department Store on Broad Street and One Community United will mark the occasion with a program at First United Methodist Church.

The program, titled From Death to Life, consists of the story of a mother who in an attempt to heal from the slaying of her teenage son visited his killer in prison. Mary Johnson-Roy visited Oshea Israel 10 years into his 25-year prison sentence for the 1993 murder of her son 20-year-old Laramiun Byrd.

During his time in prison they formed a bond.

“By the time he was released she took him in as her son,” said Diane Lewis who planned the event and owns the old department store building at 413 Broad Street with her husband Gregg Lewis.

The event was tied to One Community United after the Rev. Eric S.C. Manning pastor of the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, spoke in Rome in February about the importance of forgiveness to moving beyond any number of divisive issues.

“We think the event Wednesday is an answer to moving past the ‘see something, say something to see something do something’,” Lewis said.

There is no cost to attend the program which begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Wilder Center of the First United Methodist Church.

Mary’s husband, Ed Roy, who also lost a child to homicide will be part of a group coming from Minneapolis to Rome for the event.

The couple was married in January of 2015 and Israel served as one of the groomsmen during the ceremony.

Kathy Beck, who represents the parents of offenders on the From Death to Life advisory board will also be a part of the program in Rome Wednesday night.

Johnson-Roy founded From Death to Life in 2005, a short time before she ultimately forgave Israel for killing her only son.

The ministry reaches out to offenders and families of offenders will also be on the program Wednesday night.

Photo contributed by Brian Mogren Mary Johnson-Roy (right) hugs Oshea Israel. The two developed a bond 10 years into his 25-year prison sentence for the murder of her 20-year-old son.