Mina Smallman, a retired Anglican priest, has made a stunning declaration of forgiveness towards the man who brutally murdered her two daughters, Nicole and Bibaa, in June 2020. However, she draws a stark line when it comes to the two police officers, Jamie Lewis and Deniz Jaffer, who took photos of their bodies and used derogatory language to describe them. While Danyal Hussein’s heinous crime has been forgiven, Ms. Smallman refuses to extend the same mercy to the officers, citing their violation of her daughters’ dignity as a further betrayal.
Ms. Smallman’s journey towards forgiveness has been marked by immense pain and struggle, including an attempted suicide after the officers’ release from prison. Yet, in a remarkable display of resilience, she has channeled her grief into campaigning for women’s safety and working with the Met Police to create a better, more compassionate force. Her story raises profound questions about the nature of forgiveness, justice, and the human capacity for redemption. As Ms. Smallman so eloquently puts it, “When we hold hatred for someone, it’s not only them who is held captive, it’s you.”
