True story: widow's act of forgiveness sways judge

"An act of forgiveness in court by his victim's widow has led to a home detention sentence for Phillip Kirkwood Hamilton who drove drunk and killed a cyclist in a hit and run smash.

The widow, Andrea Krueger, first spoke of her forgiveness as she read her victim impact statement at Hamilton's sentencing for the death of Jens Richardon, a German citizen who was living in Canterbury.

After saying that she was struggling with her faith and found it hard to pray, she said: "Our task is to live. I really hope and pray for you, Phillip. God bless you."

She gave him a hug as she passed the dock where he was standing for the Christchurch District Court sentencing on charges which he had admitted in November.

Judge Philip Moran said her statement was eloquent and powerful. "Reading it was a feat of great courage. I wish you well."

He found that the purposes of sentencing could be achieved without imprisoning 41-year-old Hamilton. "I was moved a great deal by the act of forgiveness I witnessed from Miss Krueger."

He imposed 12 months of home detention for Hamilton at a flat in the Christchurch suburb of Riccarton, and disqualified him from driving for three years."

http://www.vorb.org.nz/widow-act-forgiveness-sways-judge-t104416.html

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Replies

kahlila April 21, 2010 at 8:39pm

~the lyrics of this song remind me deeply of the notion of forgiveness, lifetimes..~

~so beautiful~ (lyrics start at :56) ;0) ~loves!~
- kahlila > kahlila April 21, 2010 at 9:07pm
  
  ~"canine food" ?! oops! lol! that's "cannon food"..~ sorry bout the grammar ish~ews!~ i shoulda proof~read before posting.. aw, you get it tho.. ~ :0) ~
kahlila April 21, 2010 at 8:36pm

~forgiveness is one of the most powerful energies one soul can manifest in this realm!~ thank you for the inspiring article Merryn! i work with this one everyday! Although, i often must take a "warrior's stance" in my personal life, sometimes i think this hurdle is "the big one" standing between me & my own graduation~evolution. self~forgiveness, forgiving "others" & all sorts of forgiveness karma from multitudes of past lives! ~hallelujah~
- Merryn > kahlila April 22, 2010 at 9:13am
  
  I have experienced a funny thing in the last wee while, whereby I seem to have forgiven people without even 'trying'! I am aware of having dreams with the people in them, and although I can't really remember the content of the dreams, everything seems to feel resolved, and I have a better sense of how I contributed to the situation. And this is without any conscious effort on my part, cool ay?! It's like resolution has occurred at a soul level, rather than at a physical level.
Dan April 21, 2010 at 11:54am

Great article and boy did it start some flame wars on the original page. Most like that the woman was forgiving, but claim the judge shouldn't have been at all. Since the man didn't "get off" free and will have to pay some form of restitution as well, I can't see where all the anger in the opinions really comes from. There's still a LOT of "An eye for an eye" in this world.
- Merryn > Dan April 22, 2010 at 9:09am
  
  Yes, it's quite bizarre that others would be angry. The whole prison thing seems stupid to me, except in cases where the person is clearly a threat to the public. What a waste of money, and lives....