Mother slaps the noose off of her son's killer

William Haskins · Apr 17, 2014

...metaphorically speaking.

no agenda with this one, just a dramatic story.

The execution of an Iranian convicted of murder was halted at the very last minute in a dramatic scene this week when the mother of his victim forgave him as he stood on the gallows with the noose around his neck, according to Iranian media.

The convict, identified by his first name Bilal, had been sentenced to death for killing a teenager, Abdollah Hosseinzadeh, during a street fight in the market of the northern Iranian town of Nour seven years ago, the ISNA news agency reported. At the time, both Bilal and Hosseinzadeh were around 17 years old, ISNA said.

Bilal was brought blindfolded to the site of his planned execution Tuesday in a town square. He was stood on a chair on the gallows and the noose was put on his neck, according to pictures of the scene published by ISNA.

But at the last minute, Hosseinzadeh's mother, Samereh Alinejad, forgave him, after giving a speech to the crowd and then slapping Bilal in the face. Hosseinzadeh's father helped take the noose off of Bilal, whose weeping mother hugged Alinejad in thanks, as seen in the photos.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/iranian-woman-forgives-sons-killer-gallows

Lillith1991 · Apr 17, 2014

Now that's forgiveness.

Vince524 · Apr 17, 2014

I don't know that I'd have it in me.

shadowwalker · Apr 17, 2014

If, God forbid, my son were murdered, I would fight tooth and nail to keep the killer from execution. Neither my son nor I believe in it, and I can't think of a worse 'memorial' for him.

DancingMaenid · Apr 17, 2014

shadowwalker said:
If, God forbid, my son were murdered, I would fight tooth and nail to keep the killer from execution. Neither my son nor I believe in it, and I can't think of a worse 'memorial' for him.

I hope my family would do the same for me. I've made my feelings about the death penalty well known, and have tried to make it clear that if I should ever be killed by someone, I don't want anyone to push for the death penalty.

rugcat · Apr 17, 2014

If someone, God forbid, were to murder someone I loved and I thought I could get away with it, I would kill them myself.

Cyia · Apr 17, 2014

What strikes me in this story is the rarity of her actions. This isn't just family sitting in the gallery during a clinical execution; the family is expected to carry out the sentence by kicking the chair out from under the guy.

Plenty of people would say they'd like to kill the person who took a loved one from them, but I would imagine far fewer could actually take that final step if they were the one ending a life. The reason murder carries such a high penalty is because it's such a horror to most rational, sane, thinking people. It's NOT easy for the average person to do, except in heated circumstances.

Years after the fact, when the rage has cooled and it's your hand that's being used as a weapon / instrument - even an instrument of the justice system you follow - that cannot be an easy step to take. Nor would it be easy to live with the after effects, and that's not something that should be put on an already grieving family.

Kudos to this lady and her husband for showing compassion.

rugcat · Apr 17, 2014

Cyia said:
Plenty of people would say they'd like to kill the person who took a loved one from them, but I would imagine far fewer could actually take that final step if they were the one ending a life. . .

. . . Years after the fact, when the rage has cooled and it's your hand that's being used as a weapon / instrument - even an instrument of the justice system you follow - that cannot be an easy step to take. Nor would it be easy to live with the after effects. . .

Very perceptive, and very true.

But even knowing that, it does not change my mind.

Teinz · Apr 18, 2014

It is one of the more beautiful things I've heard for months. It gives me hope for humanity.

AncientEagle · Apr 18, 2014

rugcat said:
If someone, God forbid, were to murder someone I loved and I thought I could get away with it, I would kill them myself.

I am convinced that forgiveness is absolutely the right thing to do. Still, I suspect that I also would kill them myself. With my bare hands. Even if I knew I couldn't get away with it.

robjvargas · Apr 18, 2014

Teinz said:
It is one of the more beautiful things I've heard for months. It gives me hope for humanity.

Yup. +1.

The victim's mother got a moment to express her anger, and then was able to forgive.

CNN had a video story, although the video was just a collection of still images.

It left me wondering if it wasn't that one moment of release, of being able to let out the anger, that permitted her the forgiveness.

Don't know. Just sort of speculating in odd directions.

Zoombie · Apr 18, 2014

I have no idea what I'd do in similar situations.

shaldna · Apr 18, 2014

Cyia said:
Plenty of people would say they'd like to kill the person who took a loved one from them, but I would imagine far fewer could actually take that final step if they were the one ending a life. The reason murder carries such a high penalty is because it's such a horror to most rational, sane, thinking people. It's NOT easy for the average person to do, except in heated circumstances.

Years after the fact, when the rage has cooled and it's your hand that's being used as a weapon / instrument - even an instrument of the justice system you follow - that cannot be an easy step to take. Nor would it be easy to live with the after effects, and that's not something that should be put on an already grieving family.

Agreed.

Time can change how you feel about even the worst things. But I think a big part of this sort of story is HOW the initial crime happened. I think there's a big difference to someone being killed in a fight in the heat of the moment and someone plotting to kill.

I know the latter would see me set out to enact all kinds of holy revenge. But if it were the former, be it an accident or a heated moment that got out of control, well, in all honesty I'd like to think I could show forgiveness. I know that I've been in those situations that got out of hand, and it could just have easily been me that did that to someone else.

It was a very touching story, and his mother is clearly a very strong and forgiving woman.

rugcat · Apr 18, 2014

shaldna said:
I think there's a big difference to someone being killed in a fight in the heat of the moment and someone plotting to kill.

I know the latter would see me set out to enact all kinds of holy revenge. But if it were the former, be it an accident or a heated moment that got out of control, well, in all honesty I'd like to think I could show forgiveness.

Yes, absolutely. Not all killings are equivalent, and responses would and should vary accordingly.

shadowwalker · Apr 18, 2014

I'm not talking forgiveness, but I'm not talking vengeance either. I don't believe in the death penalty, so for me to advocate or actually take the life of the murderer would put me on the same level as them. I believe in the justice system. As long as the culprit receives a fair trial, and I know they actually got the right person, then jail would be enough, and I could start moving on with my life, such as it might be.

AncientEagle · Apr 18, 2014

I, too, am philosophically opposed to the death penalty, for a number of reasons. And I believe that forgiveness is one of the most important necessities of the Christian faith. But if someone were to maliciously murder one of my loved ones, philosophical beliefs and Christian teachings, no matter how I have tried to live by them in the past, might be washed away in an inhuman rage.

shaldna · Apr 19, 2014

I'm not a fan of the death penalty in the majority of cases, but for rapists and paedophiles I think it should be mandatory.

shadowwalker · Apr 19, 2014

shaldna said:
I'm not a fan of the death penalty in the majority of cases, but for rapists and paedophiles I think it should be mandatory.

What makes them the exception?

Not willing to get into a debate about the death penalty, because that never goes anywhere. I'd just ask people to remember how many convicted criminals have been found to actually be innocent, some decades after the fact. Not much help to them or their families if we've killed them.

kuwisdelu · Apr 19, 2014

shaldna said:
for rapists and paedophiles I think it should be mandatory.

shadowwalker said:
What makes them the exception?

Also, going to point out that pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder.

What you wanted to say was "rapists and child molesters".

(Which is kind of redundant since child molesters are rapists.)

Unless we're executing people for having psychiatric disorders now.

DancingMaenid · Apr 19, 2014

shadowwalker said:
Not willing to get into a debate about the death penalty, because that never goes anywhere. I'd just ask people to remember how many convicted criminals have been found to actually be innocent, some decades after the fact. Not much help to them or their families if we've killed them.

Also, before the development and widespread use of DNA testing, it was much easier for the wrong person to be convicted in cases of stranger rapes. It's still a possibility. I hate to imagine how many more innocent people would have died if the death penalty was automatically given in rape cases.

Haggis · Apr 19, 2014

AncientEagle said:
I, too, am philosophically opposed to the death penalty, for a number of reasons. And I believe that forgiveness is one of the most important necessities of the Christian faith. But if someone were to maliciously murder one of my loved ones, philosophical beliefs and Christian teachings, no matter how I have tried to live by them in the past, might be washed away in an inhuman rage.

I'm very much afraid that this would be me if I were in that kind of situation. I think there are times when it's simply not possible to be rational.

EarlyBird · Apr 19, 2014

Yeah, but was the murderer sorry for what he did?

I'm staunchly, irritatingly, glaringly christian, but I do not believe in blanket forgiveness if there is no basis for doing so. "Forgiving" for its own sake is just condoning wrong, IMO.

If it were my child that were killed and the murderer had no remorse, I wouldn't lose any sleep over his execution. But if they were truly sorry? Different story.

shadowwalker · Apr 19, 2014

EarlyBird said:
I'm staunchly, irritatingly, glaringly christian, but I do not believe in blanket forgiveness if there is no basis for doing so. "Forgiving" for its own sake is just condoning wrong, IMO.

If it were my child that were killed and the murderer had no remorse, I wouldn't lose any sleep over his execution. But if they were truly sorry? Different story.

See, I never heard of the other guy having to be "truly sorry" in order to be forgiven. I'm not sure why Jesus would have forgiven the people that crucified him if that were the case. And frankly, how would anyone know if the person were "truly sorry"?

crunchyblanket · Apr 20, 2014

shadowwalker said:
If, God forbid, my son were murdered, I would fight tooth and nail to keep the killer from execution. Neither my son nor I believe in it, and I can't think of a worse 'memorial' for him.

Though my country does not have the death penalty (and long may it stay that way) I have made it abundantly clear to my loved ones that, should I ever be murdered, I would want them to pursue justice, not vengeance. To me, 'an eye for an eye' is not justice, it's the perpetuation of violence and anger in the name of revenge. And I'm a bloody hippy.

I'm not in the least bit religious, but I do believe forgiveness is an extremely powerful thing. Not something to be dished out freely, but a powerful thing nonetheless.

Just my opinion, of course. Your mileage may (and probably will) vary.

Mother slaps the noose off of her son's killer

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