Man Befriends Brother's Murderer

On Feb. 27, 1986, on the streets of south Los Angeles, Melvin Carroll brutally murdered Julio Jimenez. The two men were acquaintances because Jimenez used to buy PCP-dipped cigarettes from Carroll. Moments before the murder, Carroll and two male accomplices hotwired and stole Jimenez's car, and the two men drove off in the blue Chevy Monte Carlo.

Meanwhile, Carroll told Jimenez it had been stolen and offered to help find it. Jimenez agreed but grew suspicious of Carroll. He accused Carroll of being involved in the theft though Carroll denied involvement. When Jimenez had his back turned, Carroll struck him in the back of the head with a car jack 17 times. Carroll fled the scene, grew paranoid, and returned to slice Jimenez’s throat with a broken bottle.

A Broken Family

Trino Jimenez was 18 at the time of his brother’s murder. In the aftermath, Jimenez turned to alcohol to help ease the pain. He grew distrustful of Black people and wanted to “hold the entire Black race accountable” for Carroll’s actions. Over time, Jimenez’s heart softened. Through the influence of his Christian faith, his thoughts on forgiveness changed, sparking his interest in contacting Carroll.

A Surprising Letter

Nearly 30 years after his brother’s death, Jimenez sent Carroll a letter in prison. When Carroll received the letter he expected it to be hateful, yet what he read surprised him. In the letter published by the LA Times, Jimenez wrote, “After this occurrence, I faced many struggles, my heart was filled with anger and not only an anger towards the people responsible, but towards an entire race. God had to help me with my struggles, with my anger.”

Carroll replied that the letter and Jimenez’s faith had “restored him.” This correspondence was the beginning of an unlikely friendship.

An Unlikely Friendship

The letters continued and the two men grew intimate. Carroll began to confront the pain and suffering he had inflicted on the Jimenez family. Jimenez found closure by asking Carroll about his actions. Carroll admitted that Jimenez’s brother did nothing to deserve death and that he was simply a victim of Carroll’s “criminal way of thinking” at the time. Carroll began a Bible study with his fellow inmates studying Scriptures on God’s forgiveness.

Eventually, in March 2017, the two men met face to face. The conversation was facilitated by a little-known state program in California that brings victims and family members into contact with offenders. The lead-up to the meeting was nerve-wracking for Carroll who spent months preparing. In the first moments, Jimenez took Carroll by his hands and prayed that Carroll’s hands – the ones that murdered his brother – would be “an instrument of love now.”

The two men spoke for six hours, exchanging vulnerabilities about the event that occurred so many years ago and its impact. The conversation ended and they embraced. Shortly after, Carroll learned that the state had found him suitable for parole.

“They said, ‘You got found suitable?’ I said, ‘Hey, I got something better than that,” Carroll said to the LA Times, referring to the forgiveness he found from Jimenez.

Where Are They Now?

In 2019, Jimenez attended Carroll’s parole hearing and spoke about the power of their relationship. Impacted by Jimenez’s statement, the commissioners granted Carroll parole.

Jimenez dedicates much of his time to volunteer work with restorative justice, helping others heal by facilitating victim-offender dialogues and sharing the power of his story.

Today Carroll resides in Northern California where he works helping the homeless. In his words, he is spending what he has left of his life “in peace.”

References: He befriended his brother’s murderer. In each other, they found healing | Trino Jimenez Bio