The mother of an 8-year-old boy shot and killed by his cousin tearfully told a judge she is trying to forgive the teen who pulled the trigger.

Charlie Oliver, 17, avoided a trial and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a DeKalb County courtroom Tuesday morning. Channel 2's Tom Jones said the teen could have faced felony charges and 30 years in jail.

A judge instead gave him a negotiated 10-year prison sentence after prosecutors said he was playing with a gun that went off and killed his cousin Solomon Zellner.

Oliver was living with Solomon and his mother when the shooting happened. Prosecutors said Oliver was living with them because he had been getting into trouble and Angela Ramos was trying to steer him in the right direction.

She told the court she still has mixed feelings about the ordeal.

"I'm still working on forgiveness. It's hard, but he's a child. I don't want to see him lose his whole life. He still needs to pay to learn his lesson," Ramos said.

Oliver's sister told the judge her brother has had some issues, but is a good kid. She said 10 years is too long a sentence for her brother.

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