In Depth:  forgiveness

These are the words of Brandt Jean, brother of Botham Jean, a man shot dead in his apartment in Dallas in September 2018 by a female police officer. The officer had entered what she thought was her apartment and mistook him for an intruder. They were spoken in the courtroom to the officer.

‘I hope you go to God with all the guilt, all the bad things you may have done in the past. Each and every one of us may have done something we’re not supposed to do. If you truly are sorry … I forgive you. And I know that if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you.

A new documentary released in June shares the story of a 13-year-old refugee from Iraq, who is rebuilding her life there after saying she forgave the ISIS terrorists that swept through her country.

Myriam was interviewed in 2014 when she was nine years old and living in a refugee camp in Kurdistan, northern Iraq, after fleeing ISIS terrorists. She captured the hearts of millions with a message of hope and forgiveness. Now, five years after ISIS overran Iraq, Myriam and her family are back home in the largest Christian town – Qaraqosh. Sequel In the documentary, of Hope, Myriam shares how her faith has sustained her. The film also shows the power of hope in Qaraqosh, which recently celebrated Easter with a vibrant procession amid the ruins.

The widow of a missionary who was killed in the Autumn said she forgives the man who shot her husband.

Stephanie was riding in a car with her husband Charles Truman Wesco when he was shot in the head during a firefight between separatists and soldiers in Cameroon.

A pastor in Uttar Pradesh has forgiven his attackers despite losing hearing in one ear after Hindu extremists tortured him, pressured police to falsely charge him and prevented doctors from treating him in late September.

Pastor Abhay Sagar, 37, of Biswan town in Sitapur District, was about to begin preaching when he was attacked. 25 men from Hindu extremist groups Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad barged into the schoolroom where the congregation was meeting, according to the pastor’s wife.

The daughter of an elderly man whose murder was recorded in a Facebook live video has forgiven her father’s murderer and says that through her testimony of forgiveness, people are coming to faith, it was reported in April.

Debbie Godwin, the daughter of 74-year-old Robert Godwin who was murdered in Cleveland, Ohio, while his assailant streamed the crime on Facebook live, made news when she did an interview and expressed her forgiveness for her father’s killer.

A pastor in Turkey made headlines when he chose to forgive a group of Muslims who damaged his church in August.

He did not press charges against the Muslim men who broke windows and damaged a security camera at the rented building. The extremists were reportedly angered that the church was leading Muslims away to Christianity.

A Christian girl was killed in January after she and two friends shrugged off the advances of young drunken Muslim men from one of the elite areas of Lahore, Defence Colony.

Kiran (17), Shamroza (18) and Sumble (20) were walking home after a hard day’s work, on their way to their deprived Christian community in Baowala. They had set off at 9 pm on 13 January to get home quickly before it got too unsafe. However, they were accosted by four allegedly drunk Muslims in a car, who harassed them to get into the car for ‘a ride and some fun’.