JIMMY Mizen was a 16-year-old schoolboy, who was stabbed to death in a bakery in Lee Green, London, in 2008.
His killer, rapper Jake Fahri, was released from prison in 2023 and was found to have bragged about the crime in his rap songs.
Who killed Jimmy Mizen?
Fahri was 19-years-old at the time of Jimmy’s murder.
Jimmy was a well-known figure in his community, standing at 6 feet and 4 inches at the age of 16 and working as an altar boy in his free time.
The schoolboy was murdered in a London bakery, after Fahri harassed both him and his brother.
When Fahri went to strike Jimmy with an advertising sign, the 16-year-old was able to grab hold of the weapon.
Fahri then hurled a glass plate at Jimmy which severed several of his major arteries and caused a fatal amount of blood loss.
The killer turned himself in, three days after the crime, and insisted that he “didn’t mean to kill him”.
Fahri was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 14 years behind bars, in 2009.
After leaving prison in 2023, he launched a rap career under the pseudonym TEN.
He bragged about the murder in several of his songs, with lyrics including: “Stuck it on a man and watched him melt like Ben and Jerry’s.
“Sharpen up my blade I’ve got to keep those necessary.
“Stay alert and kept it ready, any corner could be deadly.”
“Judge took a look at me, before the trial even started he already knows he’s gonna throw the book at me”.
In another chilling rap, Fahri says: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone.
“S***, I wanted more, it made it less wrong.
“Seeing blood spilled same floor he was left on.”
Who is Margaret Mizen?
Margaret Mizen is Jimmy’s mother, who made headlines when she said that she wanted to “forgive” her son’s killer.
Explaining her decision, Margaret said that forgiving the killer allowed her to live without “so much hate” and that she would finally be able to “look out of the window and see the sun shining”.
However, when the news of Fahri’s callous lyrics came to light, Margaret said that she was “disappointed” with the BBC for playing his songs.
She said: “When you’re playing the songs of a murderer it’s pretty bad.”
Jimmy’s mum continued by saying that the “words are absolutely horrendous” and that she thinks the songs are “promoting violence”.
She added that she thinks the songs are “probably about our beautiful boy”.
Despite being disappointed, Margaret said that she still wanted to do something good in light of the tragic events.
She said: “This is not going to change because of what’s going on now. You know, we have to decide what sort of messages do we want.
“And I think our children need to hear these messages of forgiveness, peace and hope.
“They don’t need to hear all these dreadful rap songs that are going on with all the horrible words.
“So our message will stay forgiveness, peace and hope. And that’s the message that we give to young people in schools that will continue.”
What is the Jimmy Mizen foundation?
Margaret and her husband Barry launched a charity originally named The Jimmy Mizen Foundation, which has been renamed The Mizen Foundation.
The organisation supports young people across the country and encourages them to make positive choices and actions.
It is firmly committed to opposing harsher punishments for criminals and instead hopes to tackle crime at its roots, stopping it before it starts.
On their website, the couple say: “The behaviour and actions of the communities that we live in are the direct responsibility of each one of us.
“If we want a more peaceful society it starts with the individual.
“Long term, deep-rooted change can only happen if the thinking is changed first and we develop a more positive narrative concerning our young people.
“We believe that young people respond best when they are part of any decisions affecting their lives.”
Barry and Margaret also run the Good Hope Cafe in Lewisham and all of the eatery’s proceeds go to funding youth schemes across the UK.
