Davidson College student advocates for childhood friend’s early release from prison

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Thanks to the support and advocacy of a Davidson College student, a young man has a fresh start.

Brandon Harris and Sura Sohna grew up as friends in Annapolis, Maryland and went to the same elementary and middle schools.

“I remember me and him at recess,” Sohna said. “I remember he used to wear his favorite Lakers jersey all the time. “We played football, baseball, basketball. He’d always be there.”

Harris attended Davidson College, earning recognition as a Belk Scholar and two-time president of the school’s student government association. Sohna was sentenced to 15 years in prison for several first-degree burglary convictions.

“There (were) times there wasn’t food or electricity,” Sohna said. “Just me, my mom, my brother, just in a house, dark for weeks. “I felt a lot of shame like I was no one, like I didn’t count.”

Sohna stole his first bicycle when he was 12 years old and soon committed burglaries and robberies regularly.

He was 17 when he was convicted for a string of six burglaries.

Two years later, Sohna was charged and convicted again for another string of crime, which all led to his prison time.

In 2020, Harris sent Sohna a letter to check on his friend, which led to more communication between the two.

“He wanted to hear all about the college experience, all that I’m up to,” Harris said. “I wanted to hear all about him.”

As part of a semester-long independent study project last year, “Telling Stories of the Ignored and Forgotten,” Harris focused on Sohna’s life and the stiff judgement levied against him.

Harris appealed to Sohna’s victims, as well as the police and Maryland’s governor. Last April, he presented his friend’s life story to the public via Zoom.

On Tuesday, Harris was in the courtroom as the judge granted a reprieve. Sohna’s sentence was reduced and he was released from jail.

“I was just in there Monday, and I went home,” Sohna said. “I just had a 15-year sentence, and I went home the next day. Like, I don’t even know how real that can be.”

Sohna says he will now complete his GED and pursue a childhood dream of photography.

“I want to take full control over my life instead of keep doing the same behaviors and same past decisions,” Sohna said. “This birthday, it’s going to be one of the best birthdays. I’ll never forget.

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