Reply #9: By individuals perhaps

[YankeyMCC]

but not by society. I'm not sure "forgiveness" really has much meaning on a societal level. But people who've abused children have proven themselves to be a direct threat to the very core of society, the very thing (children) that our society requires for continuation. All the worse because society exists largely to protect this simultaneously critical and defenseless component of our society - the children.

So I don't see how a responsible society can continue to allow people who've proven to be such a threat to our success as a society to remain free within the society - ever again.

I don't support the death penalty in the real world because of the inequities but there are limited cases where I can understand it's use theoretically and child abuse is one such case.

But individuals may choose to forgive other individuals and in fact that too is core to being human, and that's one reason that I would lock up child abusers forever but not kill them, because killing them (besides the chances of being wrong in convictions) would rob them and others of the chance of being and expressing their humanity - thus reducing us all.