Understanding Mercy (by Alice Gray)

There was a young man in Napoleon's army who committed a deed so terrible that it was worthy of death. The day before he was scheduled for the firing squad, the young man's mother went to Napoleon and pleaded for mercy of her son.
Napoleon replied, "Woman, your son does not deserve mercy."
"I know," she answered. "If he deserved it then it would not be mercy."

Moral of the story:
Like love, Mercy is something that cannot be forced. It comes naturally from within oneself, unconditionally, unasked, and unsought.