Reply #9: I applaud them

[Jacobin]

What you find from experienced grief counselers in these situations, is that the first reaction is to seek revenge, which in the end is hollow and meaningless and creates further harm to the victim's family.

I'm reminded of a dear lady whose daughter was kidnapped and murdered by a criminal who was awful enough to call her on her dead daughter's birthday and taunt her. Amazingly, rather than scream at him, she began a long dialgue with him, encouraged him to call more, told him she forgave him. The end result after months of their conversations was that he turned himself in. She still visits him in jail. She doesn't want him killed. She doesn't believe in murder.

She is what people used to call a Christian. Now she would be demonized as some candy-assed liberal.

She is at peace. She no longer suffers from the trauma that seeking revenge inflicts on victim's families and she caught the murderer that killed her daughter and he's in jail.

The people who are speaking out to keep this guy from being killed are to be commended (the press will villify them). They understand what it takes to heal from the horror of their loss and they will be whole people again someday, with their humanity intact, unlike the vengence seekers who want to kill someone, anyone, as long as they can get some Old Testament blood bath going.

Blessed be the peace makers.