Forgiveness can only go so far

From the Daily Telegraph:

Norman Kember, the freed Iraq hostage, and two other men held with him have announced today that they "unconditionally" forgave their captors and wished them no "retribution".

Up to a point, I think that’s a fairly healthy attitude to have. In those circumstances bitterness and anger, while understandable, are a bane to the victims only. By “forgiving” their kidnappers these people are now in a position to move on and focus on the more important aspects of their life.

(It would be churlish of me not to point out that this act of forgiveness is most likely motivated by their religion – such compassion is - sadly, all too rarely - one of the upshots of religious belief, though not limited to it.)

However, I disagree with their stance here:

In a joint statement, made after police asked them to give evidence, the campaigners said: "We unconditionally forgive our captors for abducting and holding us. We have no desire to punish them. Punishment can never restore what was taken from us.

Forgiven or not, the people who kidnapped and threatened to kill them are clearly a threat to others, and the Iraqi justice system would be seriously amiss if it decided to simply release them back onto the streets. I don’t agree with the death penalty, but they should certainly be locked away for the protection of others.