Choosing forgiveness: Mother of Nova Scotia murder victim hopes killer finds peace

There was no shortage of hugs on the third floor of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court Tuesday as the final chapter in a tragic drama played out, summed-up simply by the woman at the centre of it.

"Relief," said Dale Adams. "I'm pleased with the verdict, and justice was served."

Adams and other family members were in court for the sentencing of 43-year-old Caz Henry Cox, who was convicted by a jury earlier this month in the shooting death of 19-year-old Triston Reece.

Reece was shot and killed while sitting in a car on Scot Street in Halifax in July of 2019, and Cox was charged in November of that year.

The automatic life sentence with no chance for parole for 25 years was no surprise, but the declaration of forgiveness from the victim's mother touched a lot of people, including the judge.

In the five-page decision summarizing the case, Justice Jamie Campbell reserved his heartfelt praise for Adams.

"Dale Adams has extended her hand in forgiveness to Kaz Cox," said Campbell. "He did not have to do anything to earn that, and he will decide if he accepts it."

"The forgiveness is for me," Adams told CTV News after the hearing. "If you don't forgive, you're full of rage, you're full of anger, you carry that around.  It's like you have the act or that person on your back, so they're walking everywhere you go, and that exudes out of you. I don't want that," she said.

"God forgives me for everything I do. In his eyes, sin is sin - whether it's a small sin, a big sin, it's all the same."

Still, in one of three victim impact statements presented by the family, Adams acknowledged the journey has been difficult.

"When my son was murdered, my whole world was ripped from underneath me," wrote Adams.

"It was like someone put their hand in my chest and pulled out my heart and tore it up into a million pieces."

Cox will be 66 by the time he's eligible to apply for parole - an option that shouldn't be available to him, according to an uncle in a victim impact statement.  

“What Kaz Cox has done was callous, calculated and cold," said Trevor Adams.

"25 years is not enough time because he took Triston’s life away from him forever, and I believe he should remain in jail forever until his last breathe of life.”

Cox declined to speak at the hearing.

CTV reached out to his defence lawyers, but got no response by 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Adams expressed one wish for Kaz Cox before leaving the courthouse with family members.

"I hope that somebody in jail - my prayer is that somebody in jail reaches out to him and he gives his heart to the Lord.  He can be saved just like anybody else," said Adams.

"He did a terrible act, but that's what God died on the cross for - to forgive us of our sins."