The man who is responsible for the deaths of three people has been forgiven by the family of one of the victims. Their compassion was not enough to grant clemency for the prisoner, who was on death row in Arkansas, but, as a gesture of kindness, they flew his family out to see him one last time.

38-year-old Kenneth Williams who was first jailed in 1998, and later convicted of murder and manslaughter, was to be executed for his crimes last week.

Michael Greenwood’s wife Stacy and his daughter Kayla had already, years earlier, forgiven Williams for his actions. But they recently found out that the prisoner had a daughter named Jasmine – whom he had not seen in 17 years – and a granddaughter he had never met. In a final gesture of empathy, the Greenwoods decided to buy airline tickets from Washington to Arkansas so the pair could see Williams before he was executed on Thursday.

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Jasmine and her daughter arrived in Little Rock the day before his death sentence would be carried out—and the Greenwoods were waiting for them at the airport, ready to take them to the prison.

Though the Greenwoods were not allowed inside the facility to visit Williams, they wrote out a note that was delivered to the inmate.

“I told him we forgive him and where I stood on it,” Kayla told News-Leader. “[Jasmine] said that when the warden read the email to him, he broke out in tears.”

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The Greenwood family had pushed for William’s clemency, but family members of another victim, Cecil Boren, resisted, insisting on the death penalty, according to AP. After Wednesday’s reunion, however, it was clear that the Greenwoods still were able to ease some of the pain for Williams and his family.

“When he found out that we are bringing his daughter and granddaughter to see him and that my mom and dad bought the tickets, he was crying to the attorney,” Kayla said. “He was sad he couldn’t talk to us.”

(Family photo of Michael Greenwood, his wife Stacey and young daughter Kayla)

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