Forgiveness

AS the Bail Nine Duo live their last few days a common argument I seem to be hearing is "What of the people who would have died because of the drugs they were bringing?".

It's got me thinking, especially since I just released chapter 34 of Chuckles and Giggles, "Since I Lost You" (named after the song by Genesis) in which Belle Masters and her friend Webster Schnider discuss Tate Markington, who if you remember was responsible for the destruction of Pleasantville University.  After Tates suicide, her wealth from the mighty business empire she amassed has been left to cancer research, the Defence force, and other charities as stated in her Will.  Webster argues that even though Tate did a very evil thing by having the Uni destroyed, she still did so many good things in her life and that she wasn't a bad person.  Belle disagrees, saying that her deed could have killed many people.

So, when is a bad deed forgiven?  CAN a bad deed be forgiven?  Is redemption ever possible for those who murder, rape, steal?  Can someone who brutally murdered a friend, for example, go on to redeem themselves by working for others and saving other lives during the rest of their lives?  Or is it a case of never forgive or forget?

I've read a few articles on the duo, and their work after being incarcerated.  Taking away the emotion of "the people who could have died from the drugs", the facts seem to be that these men have seemed to have turned a new leaf and are now helping others to find a new path in life, possibly saving others.  If someone could objectively say that these men had saved x amount of lives, would people consider them redeemed?  Or are there just some crimes that no matter how hard someone tries to make things right, they will never be able to be forgiven?

It's definitely something that will come up again in later chapters of Chuckles and Giggles.