A woman has told how she hugged the man who stabbed her partner to death after forgiving him for his crime. Julie Kelly, 50, from near Rochdale town centre, met the killer at HMP Liverpool as part of a restorative justice programme.
The man, convicted of manslaughter over the 2005 attack, stabbed his victim 17 times at his home in Manchester after a row broke out while the two were watching a football match. The attacker later told Ms Kelly he had a drink problem at the time and had blacked out.
Ms Kelly, a social worker and Buddhist, said she was desperate to meet the man to let him know she had forgiven him. She began writing to him in prison and, after eight years, a meeting was arranged through the probation service.
During the meeting, the man was full of remorse and did not try to defend his actions. Ms Kelly said: "The conversation flowed naturally. He made me a cup of tea and we ate biscuits as we talked. I had a card I'd prepared that expressed my forgiveness and I gave it to him before we hugged."
She added: "We had both gone through an incident that had changed both our lives forever. We had something profound in common." The meeting was organised by the Merseyside Community Rehabilitation Company as part of a restorative justice campaign to rehabilitate offenders through reconciliation with victims.
