There is so much hate, anger, and vengeance currently in the world. Whenever we are wronged as individuals, or as a society, we want revenge. It's human nature, but it really doesn't get us anywhere. Holding onto that hate and anger isn't healthy, and one man decided to show forgiveness to the man who played a part in the murder of his son.
In April 2015, Salahuddin Jitmoud was delivering pizzas for his job at Pizza Hut. On one of his last deliveries of the night he was stabbed to death and robbed in a Lexington, Kentucky apartment complex. Three people were arrested for the crime, but only one was brought to trial, Trey Alexander Relford.
Relford was accused of planning the robbery, even though he has denied having killed Jitmoud himself. He plead guilty to complicity to murder, complicity to robbery, and attempted evidence tampering. He was sentenced to 31 years in prison.
Some would say that justice was served, but it wasn't the crime or the sentence that had people standing up to pay attention, it was the final statement made by the victim's father.
The father of the victim, Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud, took the stand to give his victim impact statement, but it wasn't a hate and anger-filled diatribe that would be both understandable and expected. It was a message of peace, hope and forgiveness. It was enough to bring the entire courtroom to tears.
Relford apologized to the Jitmoud family, "There's not much I can really say. I'm sorry about what happened that day. I cannot do nothing to give that back to you."
It appeared to be real, and his reaction to Jitmoud's moving speech only added to his sincerity.
"I'm angry at the devil, who's misguiding you and misleading you to do such a horrible crime," Jitmoud told Relford in court Tuesday. "I don't blame you. I'm not angry at you. I forgive you," said Jitmoud.
Share this if you believe in forgiveness.