Abdul-Karim al-Ghoraid, a 21-year-old convicted Saudi...

Abdul-Karim al-Ghoraid, a 21-year-old convicted Saudi murderer, escaped death by seconds when he was forgiven by his victim's father as he knelt down before the executioner's sword.
Ghoraid, who killed a friend in a dispute in 1999, was moments away from being beheaded in a public square in Saudi Arabia's northern town of Tabuk.
"I knelt and lowered my head, praying to God that he would forgive me and grant that my head be cut with the first blow of the sword," Ghoraid was reported as saying.
Suddenly the victim's father shouted forgiveness out from the crowd, which meant Ghoraid could walk free. People reportedly started dancing and praising God.
Under Islamic law, relatives of a murder victim can accept "blood money" instead of the execution of the offender.