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Thread: Can Forgiveness Play A Role In Criminal Justice?

  1. #1
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    Can Forgiveness Play A Role In Criminal Justice?

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  2. #2
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    All I can say is that Ann's parents are better people than I would ever be. I'm not so sure I could be as forgiving as they were. I don't think I could forgive someone who took the life of someone I cared about. I guess I'm just not that forgiving.
    Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.

  3. #3
    Rosebud666 Guest
    Not on this forum it doesn't - hear me now and believe me later: or just pick almost any crime thread here at random.

  4. #4
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    Forgiving the criminal doesn't absolve the crime; should it lessen the punishment for being guilty of it?

    In the abscence of "extenuating circumstances"; I think not so much.

    I know a guy who is a Criminal Justice Professor, and who once served as the Warden at the State Penitentiary here.

    He said that people can say with relative certainty that they will never steal or they will never rob, because those crimes are deliberate acts; but murder or killing often occurs as the result of raging emotions and that few people can say that they will always be in control of their emotional actions.

    Kind of sounds like that might be at work here.

    Sad situation.
    A faulty hypothesis forming:
    A German scientist using Iranian physics and French mathematics.



  5. #5
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    Forgive, but never forget. It takes a lot to hate.. IDK
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    "I will be buried in a spring loaded casket filled with confetti, and a future archaeologist will have one awesome day at work."

  6. #6
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    Wow, gotta say, didn't see this one coming. If someone took my child from me, they can rot in hell for all I care, and can KISS my ass on getting forgiveness. As far as I'm concerned, you take a life, then a life sentence should be imposed, cut & dried. But after watching and reading everything, I could almost get on board with the parents of the slain girl, and it's because of this: People need to heal from their grief. If forgiving this young boy for killing their daughter is the way to heal and move on, then that's fine by me, if it works for them. Both families seem to be close, and in agreement that the young man would not benefit from a lifetime of incarceration.

    But there are a lot of aspects about this murder that bother me. You can't just take a gun on the spur of the moment and end someone's life because you aren't getting along with them, you WALK AWAY! She was on her knee's saying "don't" when he ended her life. She did NOT want to die, and he took her life from her and her loved ones. There has to be a profound punishment for that horrible decision. Sorry, I just feel like this guy should still be locked up and throw away the key. I loved what the Mom of the murdered girl said when it came to what type of punishment he should receive: "You need to do the good work of two people, because she isn't here to do her part". That really struck home with me on how genuine these grieving parents are. I wish I had that in me...
    By my troth, I care not; a man can die but once; we owe God a death.... He that dies this year is quit for the next.
    --William Shakespeare!

  7. #7
    Djen Guest
    I think that forgiveness is always something to strive for. But I don't think it should be a part of criminal justice. I think the parents could chose to forgive their daughter's murderer, and he could still serve a more appropriate sentence for her death.

    I don't think they need to be intertwined like that. That seems kind of creepy to me.

    If my daughter's boyfriend killed my daughter, I would feel very awkward if his parents were all up in my face wanting me to do "restorative justice" for him. That shouldn't be a pressure I should have to deal with. That's not a part of whether I forgive him or not. My personal forgiveness of their son shouldn't be reflected in his sentence.

    This whole article made me feel uncomfortable. It really seems to have worked out for these two families right now, and I hope they're both still OK with it when the killer is a free man and the daughter is still dead. But it just seems to have way too much potential for abuse.

  8. #8
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    Djen - I agree with your point about the unnecessary pressure of seeking restorative justice. In this situation, however, the murdered girl's parents initiated, not the other way around. That changes everything. That being said, I do not think that our society as a whole is at a place where restorative justice can be used on a wide-spread scale. It involves real communication about tough topics and in general I feel like people do not know how to really talk to each other or really listen. Plus, I don't believe it would work well for stranger on stranger type of crimes. I believe that it worked for these families because of the relationship they had before the crime. If they had not have been so close before, restorative justice would most likely not have been an option.

  9. #9
    Mammy Guest
    Djen and Rosemom, I agree with both of you. The parents of the victim knew this guy, so that may make some difference in their being able to forgive him, but that doesn't mean he still shouldn't be punished for murdering someone, especially when she tells him "No, don't!" If it works for both families, then that is wonderful. I'm just not feeling it. I sure don't see it as a viable option for strangers instead of people who knew each other. Some people are just skilled con artists who know what to say and can be very convincing. I am linking an article about serial killer Faryion Wardrip who met with the father of one of his victims for "restorative justice." It wasn't known at the time of the meeting that Wardrip had killed anyone besides Tina Kimbrew when the meeting was set up between Wardrip and Robert Kimbrew. The article is a few pages long, but the part discussing the meeting is on page three of the article.
    http://www.dallasobserver.com/2000-0...rden-of-proof/

  10. #10
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    Thanks for the link Mammy. I've read the book Careless Whispers by Carlton Stowers that is about this case. I had forgotten about it. This is the type of behavior I had in mind when I said that it would not be suitable for stranger on stranger crime. I think on a case by case basis it can be helpful given the circumstances, but statistically the number of people that would truly benefit would be minuscule. I do think that jail and probation should play a big role in the restorative justice rather than negate them. But then you have rapists and murderers being sentenced to 40+ years and serving 9. That is ridiculous.There are too many violent criminals and habitual petty criminals that are shuffled through the system and released back in the streets only to offend again. Hell, even O.J. couldn't keep his nose clean and fade away into obscurity after being acquitted for murder. First offender sentences are so light that in my opinion they almost guarantee that it will be your first of many offenses rather than your last. People are no longer afraid or even bothered by the prospect of jail time or probation. It just becomes part of life for some people, like going to the dentist or the grocery store.

  11. 01-09-2013, 07:49 AM

  12. #11
    tarsier Guest
    If it helps the individuals grieving process that's great but I believbe this is part of the reason behind the whole seperation of church and state. The law provides us with a uniform standard of behvior within a society. As a society we accept if not condone killing for the good of society; self defense for example because if some basdtard is trying to kill me it follows that there isn't much to prevent the sob from trying to kill another person or capital punishment which keep[s the person from coniuing to harm society. Forgiveness is fine and even a healthy choice for some individuals but isn't part of the legal system beyond determinig the degree of crime. This guy will get manslaughter and be out in seven years as determined by justice.

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