When their 19-year-old daughter Ann was shot by her fiancé 11 years ago, Kate and Andy Grosmaire knew instinctively the only path forward was mercy.

The devout Tallahassee couple had come to regard Connor McBride like a son and were friends with his parents, but that’s not why they chose to forgive him, even after Ann succumbed to her injuries.

“We didn’t forgive Connor for his sake, we forgave Connor for our sake,” said Kate Grosmaire. “If we had not forgiven him, we would have gone to prison with Connor.”