KRISTI SMITH

JOURNEY OF HOPE...
from violence to healing™

“The men who killed my father terrorized many people the day they took his life.  I hate all of those actions.  But I never hated them.  Several years after the crime, I felt I should let them know I felt no bitterness towards them.  I never dreamed that I would actually go into the prison, but that is what I did.  I visited Billy Lemons, the passenger in the getaway car.  Over the years, we became friends through phone calls and correspondence.  We helped each other work through some tough feelings.  In March 1997, I was at Winifield Correctional Facility when Billy was released after twenty years in prison.  It was important for me to be there for two reasons.  First, because I’m Billy’s friend, and friends support each other.  But also to show the world what forgiveness can lead to.”

Kristi Smith

Kechi, Kansas

Profile:

In December 1978, Kristi’s father, James Edwards, was killed after he chased two men who had been shooting at his neighbor.  The pursuit was short; they all ended up at a grocery store a few blocks away.  There, Kristi’s father was shot through the heart.  “It is because of God’s love and my dad, that I can forgive these men,” Kristi says.

In 1997, Kristi participated in a special MVFR-sponsored “Ray of Hope” tour to Oklahoma to promote healing and reconciliation in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing trial.  She and Billy Lemons now speak together, sharing what reconciliation has meant to their lives and how it has brought peace to both sides.

Reprinted with permission from Not In Our Name: Murder Victims Families Speak Out Against the Death Penalty, a publication of Murder Victims Families For Reconciliation, Barbara Hood & Rachel King, Editors; MVFR

KRISTI WITH KATHY AND SUEZANN