One night while at a party, 16-year-old Oshea Israel got into a fight with Laramiun Byrd. The fight ended when Oshea shot and killed Laramiun, the only child of Mary Johnson.

Eleven years after his trial, Mary went to the prison where Oshea was serving his sentence and they spoke face-to-face.

Mary and Oshea’s story is one in a series of real-life stories presented by StoryCorps and Upworthy reminding us #WhoWeAre—everyday Americans speaking to our best selves.

Click here to listen to Mary and Oshea’s original StoryCorps interview.

StoryCorps and Upworthy, the mission-driven media company that reaches more than 200 million people each month, have joined forces to launch #WhoWeAre, a campaign to share the stories of everyday Americans, build compassion, and offer hope to a divided nation. #WhoWeAre calls on Americans to reach across perceived divides and listen to one another.
Click here to learn more about the campaign.