The Gaston Gazette
Christian faith requires of its followers a forgiving heart, so as a believer Donna Avagliano says she knows she must forgive Tony Hartsell of murder. I forgive the person, but not what he did. I forgive the sinner, but not the sin, she says.
Hartsell walked out of a North Carolina prison on March 3, free on parole after receiving a 1995 life sentence for the Sept. 10, 1993, killing of Avagliano s 82-year-old aunt Merle Guin.
Avagliano, a resident of Belmont, pleaded with the North Carolina Parole Board not to release the 59-year-old Hartsell, even after 25 years in prison. The Parole Board decided in Hartsell s favor.