Iranian killer is spared execution by his victim's parents while he had the noose round his neck

As he prepares to take his last breath, this is the moment a murderer is spared the gallows seconds before he is due to be hanged after a dramatic reprieve from the victim's mother.
Blindfolded and with the noose tight around his neck, the Iranian killer was due to have the scaffold chair kicked away from under him by the dead man's parents.
But as these compelling pictures show, the mother instead walks up to him, slaps him around the face and chooses to forgive him in an extraordinary act of clemency.
The parents then remove the noose to the joy of the convict's mother who runs over and embraces the grieving woman who let her son walk free.

The convict's mother embraces the sobbing woman whose teenager was stabbed to death by her son after her incredible act of forgiveness

 The Case

The killer, known as Balal, was sentenced to death for stabbing 18-year-old Abdollah Hosseinzadeh Jnr, during a street fight in the Iranian town of Royan seven years ago.

The victim's father, Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh, revealed his wife had a change of heart after her dead son appeared to her in a dream.
He said: 'Three days ago, my wife saw my elder son in a dream telling her that they are in a good place and for her not to retaliate.

Hosseinzadeh Snr believes Balal did not mean to kill his son.He said: 'Abdollah was offended and kicked him, but at this time the murderer took a kitch knife out of his socks.
'Balal didn't know how to handle a knife. He was naive.'

Note 
 

• In a literal application of the sharia law of retribution, known as qisas, the victim's family are allowed to take part in the execution.

• They also have a say in sparing the death sentence, but not the jail term.