[Alberta's Child]

He can forgive a person for the grief that this person has caused him, but he cannot forgive a person for the crime that was committed.

What your proposing is like saying only the victim and not society can seek justice because only she had a crime committed against her.

You are confusing the issues of personal harm and justice. A person who commits a crime injures a specific victim but also harms society in a general sense. The victim can forgive the perpetrator for the personal harm that he has done, but the victim's forgiveness cannot be applied to the harm that has been done to society in general.

If someone steals my car, it is perfectly acceptable for me to forgive him, even publicly. I may even plead for leniency at his sentencing in court. The court may take my plea for leniency into consideration, but my plea cannot be the sole basis for how justice is meted out in this case.

[is_is]

obviously justice and forgiveness operate on two different planes but i think a parrallel can be drawn. I also think that you are assuming way too much by saying this man cannot do what he has done in forgiving the slim that killed his wife. He may feel exactly as you do as to what he is forgiving. He is being quoted in the media, and from that you cannot assume to know his heart and mind on this subject. In saying that he forgives the slim for killing his wife it is perfectly reasonable to assume that he is possibly only forgiving the slime for the affect that his actions have had on him.