Faced with her own tragedy, Stacey Jackson continues to show remarkable faith and forgiveness.
The mother of former Cowboys practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown said after a wake for her son that she held no grudges toward his teammate Josh Brent, who was charged with intoxication manslaughter for the crash that claimed her son’s life.
“His number was up. It was time for him to go meet God,” Jackson said, via Jason Whitely of WFAA-TV.
Jackson made an impact on the Cowboys with her strength through her grieving, after asking Brent to sit with her during the memorial service.
She said Friday night that she bore no grudge toward Brent.
“[Brent] just knew that I was going to blame him or go off on him or hit him – but no,” Jackson said. “Jerry would frown down on me if I did that, because that’s not the way I raised him.”
Of her first conversation with Brent, she said she tried to emphasize the fact it was an accident.
“He [Brown] wouldn’t want you to blame yourself, because both of y’all didn’t have seat belts,” Jackson said. “It was like a little burden lifted off [Brent.] . . .
“I’ve forgiven him, because he has enough on his plate with just reliving the whole thing over and over and over, and that’s going to be for the rest of his life.
Brown’s grandmother, Theresa Clark, echoed those sentiments, and said she didn’t want Brent to be prosecuted.
“Heavens no, that’s just the type of person Jerry was. No, we’re not mad. If anybody should be mad, we should be mad. But we’re not mad,” Clark explained. “That boy loved him. That was his friend. It was just an accident.”
That may be true, but the combination of alcohol and the lack of seatbelts make it an avoidable one, which adds a layer to the tragedy.