Los Angeles, Sep 12 (IANS): Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson has forgiven her estranged brother-in law William Balfour for murdering her mother, brother, and nephew because his tough upbringing left him emotionally damaged.

Balfour was ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars July this year after he was convicted of breaking into the family's Chicago, Illinois home and slaying Hudson's mum Darnell Donerson, her brother Jason Hudson, and seven-year-old nephew Julian King. They were found shot dead in the back of an abandoned SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) three days later in 2008, reports dailystar.co.uk.

However, despite all the pain and suffering Balfour has caused her, the 30-year-old has made peace with the situation because he was mentally unwell and too far gone to get help.

"Yes I forgive him because I feel like for the most part it's not his fault, it's.. how he was brought up," she said during an interview on chat show "Oprah's Next Chapter".

"We tried to offer love, but you were so far gone, that you couldn't even see that. A lot of things came out, that we didn't even know about, from his upbringing, which is like he never had a chance.

"You never had a chance. Had you had the love that my mother gave us, or the background that some have, then you would've stood a chance. So how could your heart not go out to that?," she said.