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Forgiving the Dead Man Walking

By Debbie Morris (Zondervan Publishing House, 1998)

Forgiving the Dead Man Walking This riveting narrative is not a systematic recovery guide, but a story valuable for its accuracy and honest detail. Family, friends, and those in ministry will be sensitized to the feelings and needs of victims of violent crimes. Because of the graphic nature of some scenes, readers are encouraged to use wisdom when recommending this book to recent victims of crimes. Yet, if they can endure the details, those in recovery from violent crimes will benefit from the companionship and wisdom of a woman who bears her scars with grace.

Forgiving the Dead Man Walking is a true story of a terrifying crime and the victim’s steps to wholeness. Debbie Morris recounts the details of the summer in 1980, when two armed criminals kidnapped her and her boyfriend, tormented and raped her, and left her boyfriend for dead while releasing her.

Debbie was only 16 years old and was determined to see her abusers receive justice. Yet when execution did not bring closure, Debbie was left confused, angry at God, and longing for wholeness. She also resented her mother for being preoccupied with a boyfriend on the night of the crime. At first Debbie turned to alcohol for consolation, but to no avail. After addiction recovery, she tried to move on with life, begin a career, and start a family. She renewed her relationship with God, and thought she’d put the nightmare behind her.

But years later, Debbie was shocked with the release of a book and movie, Dead Man Walking, created from the perspective of her own abuser on death row. This reopened her wounds and she could no longer suppress her anger, depression, and unforgiveness.

Debbie became open to God’s gentle whispers as He helped her put the past in proper perspective. She realized that God had not abandoned her. Rather, He was the one who prevented her murder. She was able to let go of the resentments toward her abuser, her mother, her abuser’s mother…and herself. She stopped asking God, “Why?” and began asking, “What do you want me to do from here?”

God’s grace is a major theme throughout Debbie’s healing journey. With honesty she addresses the doubts and questions many victims face. She recounts how she found graceful solutions to the unresolved hurt that kept her in bondage. Her final chapter presents a healing discussion of what forgiveness is—and what it is not.

This book is a must-read for any person seeking to help victims of violent or sexual crimes. It is also for the victim who wonders if healing is possible, for the mother who is swallowed in guilt, for the friend who is grieved and angered, and even for the criminal weighed down by remorse. Debbie says, “Justice didn’t do a thing to heal me. Forgiveness did” (page 251). Her story confirms that God provides true hope, peace, unconditional love, forgiveness…and grace.