That's *not* it at all.
Forgiveness does not replace justice; in fact the widow could forgive the murderers and at the same time state that they deserve to be shot.
But if "Oh, forget about it, let's move on" is what people think forgiveness means, then their conclusion is that she has passively sided with evil. And if that were the case, their indignation would be correct.
“Forgiveness does not replace justice; in fact the widow could forgive the murderers and at the same time state that they deserve to be shot.”
Do you remember the woman in Texas who had been sentenced to die and converted?
“Among those who appealed to the State of Texas on her behalf were Bacre Waly Ndiaye, the United Nations commissioner on summary and arbitrary executions; the World Council of Churches; Pope John Paul II; Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi; the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich; televangelist Pat Robertson; and Ronald Carlson, the brother of Tucker’s murder victim Debbie Thornton.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Faye_Tucker#Execution
The parole board refused her request, and GWB refused to intervene. That was one time I agreed with GW Bush. Assuming her conversion was real, it did not change the brutal murders she committed or the need for retribution and the total rejection of her deeds by society.
If she repented and asked God to forgive her, God did. But society needed to punish her for the evil she had done because unlike God, we do NOT know the truth in her soul and we administer LAW, not JUSTICE. Indeed, the biggest perversions of justice come when human judges ignore the law and try to impose justice...