Posted by Helen on 10/22/06 at 11:26:13 am
Categories: Social Justice Ravings, Capital Punishment, Crime and Justice

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend a LifeLines conference in London yesterday. They are always enjoyable events, with great speakers and lots of friendly members to chat to.

We had two guest speakers, both of whom had lost a parent to murder. Renny Cushing of MVFHR, whose father was shot dead in his home, spoke of how the death penalty prevents the victim’s family from going through normal stages of grief. He also said that in not supporting the death penalty, he was made to feel like a ‘bad victim’. He felt that relatives often feel obliged to support the death penalty as if the punishment they demand is somehow a measure of how precious the person was that they lost.

Celeste Dixon was not allowed to testify during the penalty phase of the man who murdered her mother, due to her opposition to the death penalty. Asked if she had forgiven her mother’s murderer, Celeste said that some people felt she was a saint for opposing the death penalty in her circumstances, but that this was not the case. ‘Forgiveness is a challenge’, she said, ‘and I work at it everyday.’

Peter Pringle, an exonerated death row inmate, spoke from the audience about his feelings towards a police officer whose perjured statement lead to his sentence, saying, ‘Forgiveness is not my job. What he does is between him and his God; what I do is between me and mine.’

Forgiveness is not always a matter of faith, but a matter of circumstance and inner strength. As with any issue, when we confront what we find difficult, the potential for personal growth is huge.

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