They moved to Northern Kentucky four years ago. She began sharing her tale of forgiveness across the nation soon after. At the start of her presentation, Mrs. Morris said she knew some in the crowd also had experienced violence and sexual assault. She urged them to forgive, noting that holding onto anger keeps them from moving on and can wreak havoc on every aspect of their lives. It's OK for forgiveness to be a selfish thing.
Forgiveness is a process and can take a long time.
Forgiveness has different outcomes. She noted that she could stand being in the same room as Robert Willie, whose struggle to escape the death penalty inspired the 1995 film Dead Man Walking, but she would never desire his friendship. Forgiveness, she said, seemed unimaginable 20 years ago, when she was raped and tortured by Mr. Willie and Joseph Vaccaro. They had been drinking milkshakes in Mark's car along the town's riverfront. In the next 36 hours, Mr. Willie and Mr. Vaccaro shot and left Mr. Brewster for dead.