Carjack victim sets aside anger in favor of forgiveness

**Vic01** · May-26-15, 05:10 AM

Good ending to this story...

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...ourt/27887973/

**canuck** · May-26-15, 06:15 AM

Five hundred carjackings down from a thousand five years ago the article says. Sheesh. That's still a lot of carjackings, I think.

**Jimaz** · May-26-15, 07:22 AM

But when the judge called on her to speak, she chose a different path.

She forgave him — an act of mercy that triggered a powerful moment in the courtroom that surprised the prosecutor of 25 years....

The word for that would be "grace."

**Gpwrangler** · May-26-15, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

The word for that would be "grace."

The article is all over the map. Did her "pardon" affect the guy's sentence?

**G-DDT** · May-26-15, 02:32 PM

These are the stories I like to hear.

**Honky Tonk** · May-26-15, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by Gpwrangler

The article is all over the map. Did her "pardon" affect the guy's sentence?

Mom certainly seems to think so....

**Vic01** · May-26-15, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by Gpwrangler

The article is all over the map. Did her "pardon" affect the guy's sentence?

Looks like he got some time...
"On May 12, the gunman, Kendall Kelly, 24, of Detroit was sentenced to 9-20 years in prison for Guerrerio's carjacking, and to 25-50 years for fatally shooting a man in the face two days after he stole Guerriero's car.The man who boxed her in and stood by, Demarcus Catlin, 24, of Detroit, received 9-20 years in prison at his April 1 sentencing".

**Gpwrangler** · May-27-15, 06:07 AM

Originally Posted by Vic01

Looks like he got some time...
"On May 12, the gunman, Kendall Kelly, 24, of Detroit was sentenced to 9-20 years in prison for Guerrerio's carjacking, and to 25-50 years for fatally shooting a man in the face two days after he stole Guerriero's car.The man who boxed her in and stood by, Demarcus Catlin, 24, of Detroit, received 9-20 years in prison at his April 1 sentencing".

Hate to rain on everyone's parade but 25 years for fatally shooting someone in the face is hardly a "feel good" story just because one victim survived and forgave one of the perps. Smh

**Bobl** · May-27-15, 08:20 AM

Carjackers piss me off. All of them. I had some desperate times when I made bad choices, as a young man, but pulling a gun out and stealing a car was not an option.
This is not a feel good story, to me. It is a depressing reminder of how far some have sunk. Carjack one day, shoot someone in the face, soon after? Screw them.

**Dan Wesson** · May-27-15, 11:15 AM

The nice lady may have forgave him but she ain't never gonna forget him.

Sounds like she's got a serious case of the New Testament.

Wasn't all that long ago they shot/hung horse thieves.

**G-DDT** · May-27-15, 02:55 PM

Mercy is a rare and wondrous thing, and if folks truly are the rebellious "free-thinking" types that they think themselves to be, you'd have your hand on the pulse of how Hollywood feeds us vengeance fantasies, see the ugly sentiments on comment sites all around, look into our own savage, immature natures, then make the proper deductions to find the unspoken thing. I also, don't buy into that "think of the victim's family's feeling" argument either; many folks have looked back and said forgiveness was the most therapeutic thing for them, and those that pushed for capitol punishment later regretted it.

That having been said, no where is it expected of a Christian [[though many may assume) that you have to forget-only to forgive. You are under no obligation [[beautific as it may be) to continue company with those that hurt us most [[in fact, I can give a scriptural list of the "avoids"). Justice still has to be served, and it doesn't have to be the kind of blood-thirsty justice we saw with televising Gilmore's execution or camping out to see Bundy fry [[personally, I believe in reform, and I'd rather see the worst Nazi captured-no matter how old-can you believe some conservative folks resisted that?-tried-then incarcerated, if be for life. No matter how much a "burden" of the state that seems to others. There are many non-Christian publications I can furnish to justify this ideology quite clearly from nation to nation with evidence and statistics to refute "determent of crime"). We are better than that, and I feel bad for those callous types all too given to a resignationism on the matter [[as they may also be towards mankind's tendencies to dishonesty or racism-resigned with a "everybody's like that, so..."; it's disgusting when you come across police officers who assume every person they talk to is a liar-granted they may be worn down by years of examples, but anything is possible with God, and God will throw in a few rare examples to curve ball you into rethinking things one way or another....).

By the way, mercy is in the "Old Testament" [[I quote in respects to our Jewish posters), as well, and it isn't wise to hold up the savagery of the Old West as a decent example of society's conduct.

**Vic01** · May-27-15, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by Bobl

...This is not a feel good story...

Just to be clear, I didn't say it was a "feel good" story, only that it had a "good ending". The victim not hurt, a statement made, lots of lessons, and the victim staying in the city wanting to be part of the good going on...

I agree, carjackers piss me off and I'd likely still say "good ending" if the victim had pulled her own gun and killed both carjackers, as long as she was not hurt.