joanna’s struggle tweets

At 14 Jerrie pressed a sawed-off shotgun against 17-year-old Shawna's face during a robbery and fired. The blast destroyed her jaw. She survived. Endured 100+ surgeries and 21 years of nightmares. Her children went to school while other kids called their mother a monster. When they met on Dr. Phil, Jerrie said she'd already forgiven herself and moved on. In the video below the confrontation plays out live - the first time they had seen each other in 21 years. Jerrie was 14 when it happened. Said the gun was a hair trigger. Said she doesn't remember pressing it to Shawna's face. Said when she reached for the money bag the gun just went off. The doctor told Shawna that one inch further back and her entire face would have been gone. Shawna still sees the gun in her nightmares. Still gets stared at every day. Still can't leave the house during recovery periods. Still can't take care of her kids while healing from another surgery. She said the only reason she came was because she didn't want to be afraid anymore. Jerrie served her time. Found God. Said she thinks about Shawna from time to time but had kind of moved on with her life. Then sat across from the woman whose face she destroyed and told her that until she forgives, she won't be able to heal. Said she knows this because she forgave herself and hasn't had a nervous breakdown. She said it like it was advice. Shawna sat there with 21 years of surgeries behind her and just said she didn't want to be afraid of her anymore. Was Jerrie a child who made a terrible mistake, or a woman who learned to dress that mistake up as someone else's problem to solve?