Mother and Daughter Share Message of Forgiveness with Probationers

Chief Probation Officer Mark Prisco, Kai Leigh Harriott, and Kai's mother, Tonya David.

When eight probationers, enrolled in the RALLY (Responsible Accountable Life-Skill Lessons for Youth) Program, strode into a conference room for their graduation this week their faces registered various stages of shock and surprise as their eyes locked with one of their keynote speakers for the evening: a pretty, little girl with bright brown eyes dressed in a crushed velvet jacket and two-tone pink and red skirt sitting in a tiny black wheelchair.

Nine-year-old Kai Leigh Harriott and her mother, Tonya David, came to Boston Municipal Court (BMC-West Roxbury) to talk about forgiveness. David spoke to the probationers as part of her campaign for forgiveness and a movement she has started called Forgiveness Is the Way which can be found at www.forgivenessistheway.com

Kai Leigh was only three years old when she was paralyzed from the chest down by a stray bullet fired into the air three summers ago. She and her older sister, Aja, were sitting on their third floor porch seeking relief from the heat when Anthony Warren fired several shots in the air after becoming angry with residents on the street. David had left Kai Leigh in her older daughter’s care as she quickly ran to the store.

The young probationers, ages 17 to 22, immediately recognized Kai Leigh as the little girl who told the shooter at his sentencing: “I know you’ve done wrong but I forgive you.”

As Kai Leigh and her mother looked on, BMC-West Roxbury Chief Probation Officer Mark Prisco explained to the young men, “This last class is very special. A young lady is here who six years ago was hit by a bullet. She and her mother forgave the person who shot the gun. Kai and her mother embraced the shooter in an unbelievable display of courage. I am hoping you young men have the type of courage that Kai and Tonya have.”

David, who was later joined by her oldest daughter, Aja, in the probation conference room, recounted the events that led to her youngest daughter’s shooting on that July night in 2006. Looking directly into the eyes of each of the young men as she spoke, David explained that as she returned from the store, her oldest son rushed down the street to deliver the devastating news.

En route to the hospital, she said, “It came to me. I decided right then and there that I had to forgive the person who shot my baby for her to survive and have a chance at life.”

The mother of five children, ages 25 to nine, said, “I used to never forgive anyone. I used to hold grudges. But, at that moment and that time, it changed. In that car on the way to the hospital, I believed that if I forgave, Kai was going to be okay. I said to my family, we have to forgive. You have to be in agreement with me.”

David’s eyes searched the eyes of the eight young men sitting at the conference table and said, “When you are in your hood with your boys, wouldn’t you say you are in agreement with them.”

Several young men shook their heads. The others responded with a chorus of “yes” and “uh huh.”

When David arrived at the hospital, because her daughter was in surgery, she could not see her right away. When she saw her little girl, she told her she “loved her” and “would always be there for her.” A doctor came to her and explained the extent of her child’s injury. He explained that the bullet severed her spine and that she was paralyzed from the “breast down.”

“I passed out. When I came to, I had to be there for all of my children. She (Kai Leigh) needed a mother and a place where she was loved. I had a whole family who needed me. When I tell you forgiveness is not easy,” David said as her voice trailed off.

Kai Leigh spoke to the young men, several of whom have small children. One young man is awaiting the birth of his first child, a daughter.

In a strong, clear voice, Kai Leigh said, “On that day, I did not know what was happening. There was an ambulance, sirens, police officers, and people crying.”

“Before anyone got there, I felt like I was going to lose everything. I felt like my body was right there as she pointed toward the ceiling. Me and my body were up there looking down. But, it wasn’t my time to go yet,” she said as her voice cracked with emotion.

David explained, “When this first happened, she was little. It has been very, very hard on her. She is now realizing that this is her life. What I learned is that I have never seen such a courageous little girl. She is strong and she is happy.”

Her oldest daughter, Aja, spoke of her struggle to forgive the shooter and ultimately “myself,” she said. Only 14 years old at the time, she was left to watch her younger sisters and felt responsible when her baby sister was shot. Aja spoke of flunking out of high school her freshman and sophomore years and having fights with girls who made mean remarks to her. She transferred schools and attended summer and night school to graduate on time. She is now a college student who lives on her own.

One of the RALLY graduates, commenting on the graduation speakers, said, It was shocking and I was surprised to hear the story of a young girl being shot. It shouldn’t have happened to her.”

Other RALLY speakers have included inmates from the Boston Pre-Release Center, Boston College athletes, Boston Public School Police, a reverend who lost a son to gang violence, Boston Street Workers, job training specialists from Youth Opportunity for Boston, substance abuse specialists, and an EMT who responds to shooting scenes.

The RALLY Program evolved out of the Re-Inventing Justice Program, established by BMC-West Roxbury Judge Kathleen Coffey to address the needs of offenders in the community.