Dispositional forgiveness among homicide offenders

Abstract

The study compared dispositional forgiveness among homicide offenders and non-incarcerated people, living in the same geographic areas, and matched regarding educational level and religious involvement. Forty-seven prisoners and 294 lay people were presented with questionnaires measuring aggression, dispositional forgiveness, and conceptualizations regarding forgiveness. Compared to the control group, homicide offenders reported stronger resentment toward others, lower ability at seeking forgiveness, lower capacity at unconditionally forgiving others, and a stronger tendency at considering that forgiveness is an immoral behavior. Offenders' higher level of aggressiveness did not fully explain these differences in dispositional forgiveness.