Washington: A slain Muslim pizza delivery mans' father forgave and hugged the man who was sentenced to 31 years for his son’s killing in the US state of Kentucky back in 2015.
According to a report, Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud hugged Trey Alexander Relford, who cried as it happened.
Trey Relford, 24, was sentenced to 31 years in prison on Tuesday in connection to the April 19, 2015 murder of Salahuddin Jitmoud, who was stabbed to death and robbed while delivering a pizza in Lexington, Kentucky, according to MailOnline.
During the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Jitmoud's father, Dr. Abdul-Munim Sombat Jitmoud remembered his son as a gentle, generous, and shy young man who had an interest in rapping, writing and producing.
Dr. Jitmoud said that his son had just 'one more delivery' to make the night he was murdered, making his death all the more tragic.
At the end of his speech, he shocked the court when he turned to his son's killer and said he doesn't blame him for what happened.
'I'm angry at the devil who misguided you to do such a crime,' he said.
Dr. Jitmoud added that it was important to forgive him because 'forgiveness is the greatest gift of charity in Islam'.
Teary-eyed after the father's gesture, Fayette County Circuit Judge Kimberly Bunnell called for a break in the hearing.
When court resumed, Relford apologized to Jitmoud for his son's death.
Then the father and the convict hugged, Relford wiping his face with tissues as Jitmoud wrapped his arms around the 24-year-old.
Members of the Relford and Jitmoud families, sobbing, joined the pair for a group hug. The courtroom audience watched, transfixed, according to The Washington Post.
Afterward, Relford's mother, Gail Coote Bird, was called to the witness stand. She spoke of her son's history with drugs and acknowledged that the Jitmoud family had agreed to a plea deal so that her son would avoid a possible death penalty, according to the Herald-Leader.
Jitmoud told The Post that Bird thanked him for comforting her family, and was touched by Jitmoud's kindness. She gave him her email address, he said, telling him she wanted to learn more about Islam.
When it was Relford's turn to speak, he stood up and addressed Jitmoud directly, wiping his eyes on the collar of his prison uniform.
"I do applaud you because it takes a powerful man to know that someone has hurt them and to get up there and say what you just said," Relford said, according to the Herald-Leader. "I can't imagine the hurt, the pain."
He added: "Thank you for your forgiveness."
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