‘I see him as a boy when he hit James, and as a man today’

A BRAVE mother whose son was killed in a drunken coward punch attack has shook hands with her son’s killer in an inspirational act of forgiveness.

'Meeting My Enemy' TV show, Britain - 03 Mar 2016

A BRAVE mother whose son was killed in a drunken one-punch attack shook hands with her child’s killer in an inspirational act of forgiveness.

Joan Scourfield spent years coping with the death of her son James while also wrestling with the anger she felt towards his killer Jacob Dunne, The Sun reports.

To help deal with her grief Joan began writing to Jacob as she sought answers for why her son had died aged just 28.

Jacob had already been released from prison after a 13-month sentence, and was homeless, unemployed, and struggling to get his life together when she started writing the letters.

After opening-up a dialogue Joan has now come face-to-face with her son’s killer and is helping him to rebuild his life.

She was filmed shaking hands with Jacob on ITV’s This Morning, and said: “After James died I would have been happy to see Jacob jailed for 25 years. I just thought he was a thug and would not have wanted to have anything to do with him.

“Today I’m happy to sit next to him. I see him as a boy when he hit James, and as a man today.”

Along with James’ father David, Joan and Jacob have even sat down to dinner together and plan to raise awareness of the dangers of unprovoked attacks.

James Hodgkinson was punched to the ground in Nottingham on a night out in August 2011.

The paramedic, from London, had travelled to Trent Bridge with his dad to watch the England cricket team play India in a Test match.

Later in the night drunk Jacob Dunne, who was 19 at the time, launched an unprovoked attack outside a wine bar in the town centre.

James hit his head on the ground so hard it caused a bleed to the brain and he never regained consciousness despite emergency surgery.

Independent charity Victim Support told the couple about the restorative justice system, which brings victims and criminals together to create healing for both parties.

Speaking about the first time he received a letter from the couple, Jacob fought back the tears as he told ITV’s This Morning that the letter was the first time he had been “challenged” since killing James.

“I kind of felt as if I was a victim myself and that I was the one going through the hard times,” he said.

“I had never thought about his parents. But that blew me away. Their courage — the fact they came forward — made me think: ‘I’ve got to do something about this’.”

Joan and Dave Scourfield are now working with Jacob to raise awareness of the One Punch campaign — raising awareness of the potentially fatal consequences of a single blow.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission