Wisdom and compassion in Beslan

In a remarkable display of decency, a group of victims from the Beslan school massacre oppose the death penalty for the lone surviving hostage-taker.

In September, 2004, Chechen extremists took a school in the Russian town of Beslan hostage, and in the resulting shootout over 330 people, including 186 children, died. One attacker, Nur-Pashi Kulayev, survived. Although prosecutors and many victims want him to be executed, a survivors' group calling themselves the Voice of Beslan have stated they do not want to "become barbarians in response to barbarity."

They are an example to us all.