Famous people who have forgiven- International Forgiveness Day is a time to forgive and to be forgiven. It must be a pretty good thing, because there are two groups that lay claim to a Forgiveness Day in the month of August. Both are world or international events. There's enough trouble and strife in the world. Two forgiveness days can only help to make things better.
Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance
August 3rd was designated as International Worldwide Forgiveness Day by the visionary, Robert Plath. His vision was it would be a day that would evoke the healing spirit of forgiveness worldwide. He created the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance in 1996 to empower that vision.
Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance
August 3rd was designated as International Worldwide Forgiveness Day by the visionary, Robert Plath. His vision was it would be a day that would evoke the healing spirit of forgiveness worldwide. He created the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance in 1996 to empower that vision.
Jennifer Aniston
Her former husband divorced her in 2005 and was swiftly romantically linked to his co-star Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Jennifer Aniston + "There is no bad guy and there is no good guy"
The Jennifer Aniston ‘Brad breakup’ comment finally aired on Bravo’s Inside The Actor’s Studio Monday night. Last week, Bravo teased us by releasing transcripts from Aniston’s conversation with host James Lipton in which the Friends star referred to her breakup with Brad Pitt. Now, we have the video!
Aniston’s comments came after Lipton asked her what drew her to the film, The Breakup, with Vince Vaughn. Although Aniston – nor Lipton, for that matter – ever mentioned Pitt by name, Aniston said: "It was just a beautiful human story about this couple breaking up, and I could kinda, you know... I was slightly familiar with the topic and issue, and so I honestly felt like, what a great way to sort of exorcise some of that."
The actress indicated that filming a movie about a painful breakup proved to be somewhat cathartic for her.
"Did that familiarity make it easier or harder?" Lipton asked.
"Easier, oddly. I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it," she said. "You would think otherwise, because even the producers were like, 'I don't know if we should ask you to do this,' and I was like, 'Why not? Turn the page, let's move on.'" Over the years, Aniston has rarely spoken about her 2005 split with Pitt and his hookup with his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star, Angelina Jolie.
Aniston last addressed her divorce with Elle UK magazine in 2009, saying: "There is no bad guy and there is no good guy. There are no villains and there is no heroine in this story. It's just not the case."
In an interesting note, actor Justin Theroux -- Aniston’s new love and co-star in the upcoming film Wanderlaust -- was front and center in the audience during the taping, but Lipton never asked any personal questions about the new man in her life.
The only survivor of white supremacist Mark Stroman's bloody rampage after Sept 11, 2001 is asking that his attacker be spared the death penalty Wednesday for his crimes.
In the weeks after 9/11, Stroman raided Dallas-area gas stations in search of Muslims to kill. He shot and killed Hindu immigrant Vasudev Patel, thinking he was Muslim, and Waqar Hasan, a father of four from Pakistan, while they were still behind their convenience store counters.
Rais Bhuyian, then 26 years old, was luckier. Stroman asked him where he was from, but before Bhuyian could answer, he shot him the face with a shotgun. Bhuyian played dead, recovered, and is now blind in one eye. Surprisingly, Bhuyian has since started a wide-ranging campaign to get his attacker off Death Row, arguing that his death would not solve anything.
"I forgave Mark Stroman many years ago," he writes on his blog. "I believe he was ignorant, and not capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, otherwise he wouldn't have done what he did." Bhuyian says that Stroman should serve life without parole instead. Bhuyian is also suing the state, claiming the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prevented him from contacting Stroman. (A department spokeswoman tells The Lookout she can't comment on pending litigation.)
But Bhuyian's advocacy efforts have been rejected. Stroman is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Huntsville.
"It's sad, my split second of hate and anger after 9/11 has caused many people lifetimes of pain and I regret that to this day," Stroman--who had been jailed twice for other crimes before the murders--told CBSNews.
"At that time here in America everybody was saying 'let's get them'--we didn't know who to get, we were just stereotyping. I stereotyped all Muslims as terrorists and that was wrong," he told the BBC. He said he thinks Bhuyian is a "pretty cool dude" for forgiving him.
Journalist Liliana Segura rounds up other cases in which victims or their family members have argued against the death penalty. The father of Army veteran Tim Adams pleaded for him to be spared the death penalty for killing his young child while planning his own suicide. "Our family lost one child. We don't deserve to lose another. After my grandson's death, we lived through pain worse than anyone could imagine. Nothing good will come from executing my son Tim and causing us more anguish," he said. In another case, the son of a man who was killed during a robbery argued that his father's killer should be spared the death penalty because it "isn't going to do anything that's going to bring back our father."
Aniston’s comments came after Lipton asked her what drew her to the film, The Breakup, with Vince Vaughn. Although Aniston – nor Lipton, for that matter – ever mentioned Pitt by name, Aniston said: "It was just a beautiful human story about this couple breaking up, and I could kinda, you know... I was slightly familiar with the topic and issue, and so I honestly felt like, what a great way to sort of exorcise some of that."
The actress indicated that filming a movie about a painful breakup proved to be somewhat cathartic for her.
"Did that familiarity make it easier or harder?" Lipton asked.
"Easier, oddly. I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it," she said. "You would think otherwise, because even the producers were like, 'I don't know if we should ask you to do this,' and I was like, 'Why not? Turn the page, let's move on.'" Over the years, Aniston has rarely spoken about her 2005 split with Pitt and his hookup with his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star, Angelina Jolie.
Aniston last addressed her divorce with Elle UK magazine in 2009, saying: "There is no bad guy and there is no good guy. There are no villains and there is no heroine in this story. It's just not the case."
In an interesting note, actor Justin Theroux -- Aniston’s new love and co-star in the upcoming film Wanderlaust -- was front and center in the audience during the taping, but Lipton never asked any personal questions about the new man in her life.
Rais Bhuyian
Rais Bhuyian
In 2001, a white supremacist, who attacked convenient stores with the intent of killing "Arabs," shot Bhuyian, blinding him in his right eye.
+Rais Bhuyian + Bangladeshi-born
Rais Bhuyian wants Stroman spared from death penalty The only survivor of white supremacist Mark Stroman's bloody rampage after Sept 11, 2001 is asking that his attacker be spared the death penalty Wednesday for his crimes.
In the weeks after 9/11, Stroman raided Dallas-area gas stations in search of Muslims to kill. He shot and killed Hindu immigrant Vasudev Patel, thinking he was Muslim, and Waqar Hasan, a father of four from Pakistan, while they were still behind their convenience store counters.
Rais Bhuyian, then 26 years old, was luckier. Stroman asked him where he was from, but before Bhuyian could answer, he shot him the face with a shotgun. Bhuyian played dead, recovered, and is now blind in one eye. Surprisingly, Bhuyian has since started a wide-ranging campaign to get his attacker off Death Row, arguing that his death would not solve anything.
"I forgave Mark Stroman many years ago," he writes on his blog. "I believe he was ignorant, and not capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, otherwise he wouldn't have done what he did." Bhuyian says that Stroman should serve life without parole instead. Bhuyian is also suing the state, claiming the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prevented him from contacting Stroman. (A department spokeswoman tells The Lookout she can't comment on pending litigation.)
But Bhuyian's advocacy efforts have been rejected. Stroman is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Huntsville.
"It's sad, my split second of hate and anger after 9/11 has caused many people lifetimes of pain and I regret that to this day," Stroman--who had been jailed twice for other crimes before the murders--told CBSNews.
"At that time here in America everybody was saying 'let's get them'--we didn't know who to get, we were just stereotyping. I stereotyped all Muslims as terrorists and that was wrong," he told the BBC. He said he thinks Bhuyian is a "pretty cool dude" for forgiving him.
Journalist Liliana Segura rounds up other cases in which victims or their family members have argued against the death penalty. The father of Army veteran Tim Adams pleaded for him to be spared the death penalty for killing his young child while planning his own suicide. "Our family lost one child. We don't deserve to lose another. After my grandson's death, we lived through pain worse than anyone could imagine. Nothing good will come from executing my son Tim and causing us more anguish," he said. In another case, the son of a man who was killed during a robbery argued that his father's killer should be spared the death penalty because it "isn't going to do anything that's going to bring back our father."
Ronald Cotton
Ronald Cotton
In 1984, Jennifer Thompson testified that then-22-year-old Cotton had sexually assaulted her and he was sentenced to life in prison. In 1995, DNA test results proved he was wrongly accused.
Ronald Cotton + I believe in the healing power of forgiveness.
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was certain that Ronald Cotton was the man who raped her in 1984. But she was wrong. After 11 years in jail, DNA evidence proved Cotton’s innocence. Now, the two have a friendship based on their belief in forgiveness.
Kyle Doss & Frank McBride
Kyle Doss & Frank McBride
During a 2006 stand-up comedy act, former sitcom star Seinfeld Michael Richards shouted a string of racial slurs at these two heckling audience members. The event made headlines, and Richards later issued a public apology.
Michael Richards
Real name: Michael Anthony Richards
Date of birth: July 24, 1949
Occupation: Actor
Kyle Doss and Frank McBride +compensation
Laugh Factory patrons Kyle Doss and Frank McBride appeared on the "Today" show this morning, and gave their account of what you didn't see on the now infamous tape of Michael Richards' racist rant.
Kai Leigh Harriott
Kai Leigh Harriott
At age 3, Kai was left paralyzed by a stray bullet fired outside her home Boston, Massachusetts. She faced the accused shooter in court two years later.
Anthony Warren + Kai Leigh Harriott
Kai Leigh Harriott, a smiley 7-year-old with her hair in pig tails, watched the video screen from her wheelchair today as the man who shot her said thank you.
Anthony Warren thanked Kai for publicly forgiving him for accidentally shooting her as a 3-year-old as she sat on her porch in the summer of 2003. He said that act of reconciliation has given him strength to improve himself at the Old Colony Correctional Center, where he is serving a 13 to 15 year sentence.
Anthony Warren thanked Kai for publicly forgiving him for accidentally shooting her as a 3-year-old as she sat on her porch in the summer of 2003. He said that act of reconciliation has given him strength to improve himself at the Old Colony Correctional Center, where he is serving a 13 to 15 year sentence.
"To be blessed with the opportunity to be forgiven by a beautiful person like Kai, it made me want to change," Warren said on the video as he sat on a wooden bench in the prison chapel. "It made me want to be less colder and harder. It made me really want to take a look at myself and take a look at my duties and responsibilities as black man in my community." Warren has was one of nine inmates interviewed for a video that organizers hope will deter young people from crime by showing the hard truth about life in prison. The entire video, “Voices from Behind the Wall,” will debut next month at a youth peace conference. Organizers played the short clip today of Warren at a community center in Dorchester at a press conference that designated May as “Peace Month.”
Kai sat in the front row with her mother, Tonya David, and her wide eyes on the screen as a crush of more than two dozen media cameras recorded her reaction.
“She gave me a second chance to really make a difference to show people out there that forgiveness is good,” Warren said. He took a deep breath and leaned in, looking directly into the camera.
“I want to thank Kai,” Warren said. “I want to thank her mother. I want to thank her family. I want to apologize to my community. I just appreciate the opportunity ... that’s she’s given me.”
The video ended and reporters surrounded Kai, towering over her with cameras, microphones, and recorders. "I want to say to him that thank you for making an apology video” Kai said in soft, whisper of a voice. “You can inspire so many other people by telling them that don't carry around guns and don't do bad things."
Kai Leigh Harriott + "I still forgive him."
Kai sat in the front row with her mother, Tonya David, and her wide eyes on the screen as a crush of more than two dozen media cameras recorded her reaction.
“She gave me a second chance to really make a difference to show people out there that forgiveness is good,” Warren said. He took a deep breath and leaned in, looking directly into the camera.
“I want to thank Kai,” Warren said. “I want to thank her mother. I want to thank her family. I want to apologize to my community. I just appreciate the opportunity ... that’s she’s given me.”
The video ended and reporters surrounded Kai, towering over her with cameras, microphones, and recorders. "I want to say to him that thank you for making an apology video” Kai said in soft, whisper of a voice. “You can inspire so many other people by telling them that don't carry around guns and don't do bad things."
Kai Leigh Harriott + "I still forgive him."
Rodney King
Rodney King
King was beaten by four LAPD officers in 1991, and the incident became national news after a bystander caught it on tape.
Rodney King beating
George Holliday + Rodney King
Twenty years ago tonight, George Holliday was awakened in his LA-area apartment by sirens and a police helicopter. He saw the commotion between police officers and a motorist on the street below, grabbed his brand-new Sony Handycam, and captured a scene that put a city in flames.
Rodney King forgives officers
Rodney King first made national news back in 1990, when a amateur cameraman caught a a few minutes of tape that shows a seemingly compliant King being beaten by L.A.P.D. officers. King had been pulled over and was arrested on a minor drug charge.
Lucy Magnum
Magnum, 6, was attacked by a shark while playing in shallow water, Lucy Magnum + 90 percent tear of Her calf muscle and a 90 percent tear of her Achilles’ tendon
Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive. Jesus said, "seventy times seven." When a student at The Way of Life Bible Institute in Richmond, Virginia asked what that meant, the teacher had a ready answer.
Jesus did not multiply seventy times seven to come up with a total of 490 times as the limit to the act of forgiveness. The answer is not a literal number. Jesus chose 70 because that's the life span of a man. Jesus chose 7 because that's the number of completion. In other words, we should forgive man as long as he lives.
A week ago, 6-year-old Lucy Magnum has proven that she knows about forgiveness. In fact, forgiveness is a positive step toward her recovery after being bitten by a shark on her leg. She was floating on her boogie board near her sister in barely a foot and a half of water when a shark about 5 feet long attacked her from behind, biting her twice. She suffered a 90 percent tear of her calf muscle and a 90 percent tear of her Achilles’ tendon in addition to having an artery severed in the attack. She had not suffered any nerve damage; however, she still needed so many stitches to repair the wound that doctors lost count. She is expected to make a full recovery.
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
O'Neal stated "I'm a horse. Kobe ratted me out. That's why I'm getting divorced." that infidelity rumors spread by a former teammate were what led his wife to Shaunie O'Neal divorce him.
Shaquille O'Neal + Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O'Neal + "I'm totally cool with Kobe."
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Director Spike Lee expressed disdain for Perry's work, which includes theatrical productions, films and TV shows House of Payne.
Tyler Perry + "Spike can go straight to hell!"
Rutgers women's basketball team
Rutgers women's basketball team
A radio talk show host made derogatory on-air comments about the team members in 2007, for which he later apologized.
Don Imus + “nappy-headed hos”
Rutgers team + "in the process of forgiving"
Jenny Sanford
Jenny Sanford
Sanford's husband, at the time the governor of this state, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, disappeared for five days in the summer of 2009. It was later revealed that he had left the country to visit his mistress Mark Sanford + affair in Argentina.
Jenny Sanford files for divorce December 2009
Kia Scherr
Kia Scherr
In 2008, this Virginia woman lost her husband and 13-year-old daughter Alan and Naomi Scherr.
Mumbai attack 2008
Alan Scherr + Synchronicity Foundation meditation retreat
Kia Scherr + "We must send them our love, forgiveness and compassion"
Maria Shriver
Maria Shriver
The former first lady of California learned that her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger had been unfaithful, fathering a child with the family's housekeeper Mildred Patricia Baena
Maria Shriver filed for divorce July 1
Carter Strange
Carter Strange
A group of eight teens randomly attacked 18-year-old Strange as he was jogging home from a friend's house Columbia, South Carolina.
Carter Strange + fractured skull
Carter Strange + “I don’t know about forgiveness"
Mashonda Tifrere
Mashonda Tifrere
The R&B singer's DJ husband and father of her son ended their marriage amid rumors of his relationship with a Grammy-winning artist whom he soon married.
Mashonda + "we're finally in a really good place now."
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