Mercy, forgiveness, punishment, and atonement

Where does one begin and another end, with mercy and forgiveness OR with punishment and atonement?

I know how cheesy this will sound, but I’ve been really focused on the Manson/Tate murders lately, for reasons I couldn’t really explain.  I’ve always been moved by this particular well-known crime, but this has taken on a totally new perspective, and I feel like it’s very important for me to figure this out.

Susan Atkins, the one who stabbed pregnant Sharon Tate to death in 1969, died in prison from brain cancer.  Before her death, she requested "compassionate release".  Or maybe it’s "compassionate parole".  Whichever, it had the word "compassionate" in it.  I remember when that happened.  My initial reaction was, "Too bad for her!"  It’s not that simple now, for some reason.

A large part of me wonders if she REALLY felt any remorse for the killing, and if she did, would it have been appropriate to show HER mercy, even though she told Sharon Tate she had no mercy for her, just before plunging the knife into her.  That’s another thing…I’ve been contemplating how painful a stabbing would be, and if you’re stabbed all the way to death, that must be excruciatingly painful.  My nephew poked me in the back with the corner of a sturdy box the other day, and it hurt so much that I didn’t know what to do.  With a stabbing, I would not have been able to get away from that sharpness; it would stay until the person took it out, and then there would be a deep wound that hurt, too.  

With all this swirling quite often through my mind, I can’t make up my mind or heart whether mercy would have been appropriate for Susan Atkins.  While I was in no way connected with Sharon Tate or any of the killers, it feels like I HAVE to figure this out, because the lesson could apply to other parts of life than murder.

When has someone been punished enough?  Is there such a thing?  Is it a sliding scale situation?  According to my Christian beliefs, one sin is just as bad as another, no matter how big or small it is.  At the same time, though, it is stated in the Bible, at one point, that if a group of non-believers will not listen and take your word about God, shake the dust off your feet and move on, for it shall be MORE TOLERABLE for the lands of Sodom and Gomorrah than for those people.  How can it be more tolerable if the cities were destroyed, and if one sin equals another, how can punishment vary?

The same large part of me as above thinks it would have been our Christian duty to have mercy on Susan….but the huge, enormous, life-making part of me that is a father of two women can picture if it had been one of MY girls who begged for her life but was told there would be no mercy.  Would I want the killer shown any mercy then?  I don’t have a clear answer for that.

I truly believe there is a reason for each thing that ever happens.  I’ll be dipped if I know what the reason for murder is, but I know it must be or it wouldn’t happen.  

I’ve forgiven the man who killed my Daddy.  It really was an accident, but he slandered my Daddy and put everything off on him, despite EVIDENCE that his words were not true.  That, to me, equated him with a murderer.  Before that, I had thought this man would have to live with Daddy’s death on his conscience.  Sometimes, it feels like almost no one HAS a conscience anymore. 🙁

So if I can forgive the man who killed my father, could I forgive one who killed my CHILD?  And would I want mercy shown?  And there are other areas of life that this lesson can be applied to.  It’s food for a whole lot of thought, indecision, and spiritual limbo.