On Friday of last week, several families of Charleston shooter Dylann Roof’s nine victims addressed the killer during his first court appearance. Roof stood in a guarded chamber elsewhere, while his likeness appeared on a closed-circuit television in a Charleston courtroom. He appeared sullen, baleful, and skeletal, unmoved as, one by one, the family members present forgave him and wished him the mercy of the Lord.
Expressing forgiveness from the depths of grief is extraordinary, and the mercy expressed by these surviving relatives has been rightly praised. And yet, there is still a current of unease surrounding the public reception of their forgiveness.
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