--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Does taking the life of the perpetrator…" description: "\"Does taking the life of the perpetrator return your mom? No.\" — Desmond Tutu" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/desmond-tutu-442_doe_does-taking-the-life-of-the-perpetrator_2721071.jpg" --- # Does taking the life of the perpetrator return your mom? No. ![“Does taking the life of the perpetrator return your mom? No.” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/desmond-tutu-442_doe_does-taking-the-life-of-the-perpetrator_2721071.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/desmond-tutu-442_doe_does-taking-the-life-of-the-perpetrator_2721071.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/desmond-tutu-442_doe_does-taking-the-life-of-the-perpetrator_2721071.jpg) > “Does taking the life of the perpetrator return your mom? No.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Killing a perpetrator does not restore lost loved ones; vengeance does not reverse grief. **In simple terms:** Vengeance won’t bring back the dead. Key Takeaway Seek healing over retaliation. Themes grief justice revenge ethics loss Mood somber hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - peacebuilding - legal reform - personal healing Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology of mourning restorative justice Questions to Reflect On - How can societies address loss without violence? - What personal paths aid healing after tragedy? A Different Perspective Justice systems can be complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mom/) [Perpetrator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetrator/) ## Related quotes > [“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-order-to-escape-accountability-for-his-crimes-the-perpetrator-does/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“Treating Abuse Today (Tat), 3(4), pp. 26-33 Freyd: I see what you're saying but people in psychology don't have a uniform agreement on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-calof/treating-abuse-today-tat-3-4-pp-26-33-freyd-i-see-what-you-re-saying/) [David L. Calof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-calof/) > [In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-order-to-escape-accountability-for-his-crimes-the-perpetrator-does-2/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [The roots of any evil deed can be traced to the perpetrator's refusal to experience pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ablow/the-roots-of-any-evil-deed-can-be-traced-to-the-perpetrator-s-refusal/) [Keith Ablow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ablow/) > [When you're the victim of the behavior, it's black and white; when you're the perpetrator, there are a million shades of gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/when-you-re-the-victim-of-the-behavior-it-s-black-and-white-when-you/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [“Treating Abuse Today 3(4) pp. 26-33 Freyd: The term "multiple personality" itself assumes that there is "single personality" and there is evidence that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-calof/treating-abuse-today-3-4-pp-26-33-freyd-the-term-multiple-personality/) [David L. Calof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-calof/) > [If forgiving depended on the culprit owning up, then the victim would always be at the mercy of the perpetrator. The victim would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/if-forgiving-depended-on-the-culprit-owning-up-then-the-victim-would/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [As the victim, you offer the gift of your forgiving to the perpetrator who may or may not appropriate the gift but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/as-the-victim-you-offer-the-gift-of-your-forgiving-to-the-perpetrator/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Forgiveness does not mean condoning what has been done. Forgiving means abandoning your right to pay back the perpetrator in his own coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/forgiveness-does-not-mean-condoning-what-has-been-done-forgiving/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [If you do not for give you actually are tying yourself to the perpetrator, that you are going to live your life as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/if-you-do-not-for-give-you-actually-are-tying-yourself-to-the/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [When I talk of forgiveness I mean the belief that you can come out the other side ... a better person than the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/when-i-talk-of-forgiveness-i-mean-the-belief-that-you-can-come-out/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Forgiving is a gift to the forgiver as well as to the perpetrator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/forgiving-is-a-gift-to-the-forgiver-as-well-as-to-the-perpetrator/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Theology reminded me that, however diabolical the act, it did not turn the perpetrator into a demon. We had to distinguish between the deed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/theology-reminded-me-that-however-diabolical-the-act-it-did-not-turn/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [When people see what is happening in Gaza, that can't make you too fond of the perpetrators - the Israelis. If you are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/when-people-see-what-is-happening-in-gaza-that-can-t-make-you-too/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. 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I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More Doe quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. 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