“When I spoke to you it was the first time I got to truly understand the seriousness of what I did.”

Darius Clark Monroe & David Ned

For 15 years, StoryCorps has brought people together to talk about things that might otherwise seem difficult to talk about — like in this conversation.

A high school honors student in 1997, Darius Clark Monroe wanted to help his family get out of financial trouble. So he robbed a bank in Stafford, Texas at gunpoint with two of his friends.

During his time in prison, he decided to apologize to the people who were inside the bank on that day, including customer David Ned. Seventeen years later, they sat down at StoryCorps to talk about what it meant to both of them for David to offer Darius forgiveness.

We’re presenting this conversation through One Small Step, StoryCorps’ new national effort to encourage people to engage in difficult conversations. Join us.

Support for One Small Step is provided by The Rockefeller Foundation; The Corporation for Public Broadcasting; The Einhorn Family Charitable Trust; The Charles Koch Foundation; The Righteous Persons Foundation; and Present Progressive Fund at Schwab Charitable.

Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.