This is an incredible story. I think I would have to meditate a lot to achieve a place for restorative justice if I ws in a sad situation like this. I admire these folks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/magazine/can-forgiveness-play-a-role-in-criminal-justice.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

What is interesting here wrt this board is the communication the father received from the daughter as she lay being kept alive by devices. He is so confident that she "spoke" to him. I know she was technically alive when that happened, but who knows where her spirit really was.

Yes, this story is beautiful.  Forgiveness for grievous harm is almost never a one-time act, but an emotional roller coaster of evolving consciousness focused on a noble goal.  Inner rage, bitterness, and hurt invariably involve delayed and suppressed emotion that only bubbles to the surface on separate occasions.  This emotion must be recognized, processed, and detached from over time every time it arises.  When inner peace is imparted through sustained efforts, this peace can serve as a bellweather of inevitable success--true forgiveness. 

A beloved school psycholgist from my church was caught child molesting and is currently serving a 14 1/2 year sentence.   Craig's  misuse of his power and access trtiggered incredible widespread anger.   In every other way, this man seemed a saint! After languishing in jail for a few months, one of his Christian co-workers tried to get his ex-colleagues to sign a birthday card.  Almost no one would sign it; indeed, they were indignant at the suggestion.  They wanted to deny this molester any intermittent moments in which he might feel loved!  They were unmoved by my suggestion that, if we are to love our enemies, we should love Craig too, despite his heinous act, and hope his sexual obsession might be cured through jail, therapy, and repentance.  Most of these dissenters imagined that  they were very forgiving people.  The degree of our willingness to endure the long hard process of forgiving grievous acts is,  in in my view, a badge of true spirituality.   

Don

  Intense account Lucy, thank you for sharing it--forgiveness is powerful stuff and something sorely more needed in this world.  Personally i feel a bit conflicted about whether or not victims should have an influence on how long someone experiences jail time for their crimes.