Aug. 7, 2011 - 7pm

Dominican University of California

TEENAGE SHOOTER KILLS HER SON BUT MOTHER TEACHES FORGIVENESS!

Teenage Son Shot in Face with Shotgun

Brent Lorentz was 16-years old when he was walking down the street with his friends in his quiet middle class neighborhood. Suddenly, violence came upon him. A group of teenagers in a car drove up next to him. One of the riders pointed a 12-gauge shotgun out of the window and shot him point-blank in the face. Brent survived for 7-days in intense pain before he died on December 12, 1992. Six months later, the TV show "Cops" aired grim photos of Brent lying mortally wounded in the street and a tipster led police to the 19-year old shooter. He was sentenced to 25-years in prison.

Devastated Mother Decides to Do Something

Brent's mother, Debbie and the rest of her family were devastated by the murder. The emotional trauma almost tore the family apart. But Debbie decided that she had to do something positive. She applied the lessons she learned from overcoming childhood abuse - self-affirmation and forgiveness. She set out to teach children and their parents about the ripple effect of violence and the power of forgiveness.

She created a nonprofit organization called LIFE SENTENCE© to denote the life sentence she and her family must endure without Brent. The organization sponsors her work in presenting a teaching program called CHOICES. She now presents her program around the country in schools, churches, detention centers and prisons. Her presentations have been experienced by over 40,000 students, youth offenders and parents. For her amazing journey of outstanding and dedicated work promoting the power of forgiveness, she will be awarded the Hero of Forgiveness award at the International Forgiveness Day Awards Ceremony on Sunday August 7, 2011.