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Hmm, this is a very difficult question, since if Snape had done those things, he would be a very different Snape and not the same character I have come to know and love. However, prior to DH, many people thought that he killed, either as a loyal DE before his conversion, or out of necessity to keep up his cover. And it is possible, as you say, that he contributed indirectly to the deaths of innocent people by creating spells or potions to be used by others.
It would be difficult to forgive someone who enjoyed torturing and killing. I really don't think that canon-Snape would have enjoyed killing even if he'd been forced to do it as a DE. I can forgive a remorseful Snape, partially because, as others have said, of his miserable and possibly abusive childhood. Maybe it would be harder to sympathize with someone like James, who appears to have had every advantage. I honestly don't think that (canon) Snape is in danger of backsliding, after everything we've seen of him, and his "Lately, only those whom I could not save" statement.
I can't really picture this hypothetical torturer-Snape, which maybe is an indication that it's something I could not forgive.
Slightly OT but I've been thinking a lot about Japanese detective dramas, and how there's an emphasis on redemption over revenge in them. The police often convince the criminal to voluntarily turn himself/herself in, and they say something like, "Serve your time, and then start over again." I think with Snape I can forgive him because he is both remorseful and more importantly, he is working to make up for his past wrongs.
Of course, it's easy for me to forgive Snape, since he's a fictional character who hasn't done anything to me. If I were a friend or relative of someone that he hurt (or failed to save, such as Charity Burbage), maybe I wouldn't find it so easy to forgive, even if I believed that he was sincerely remorseful. To quote another of my Japanese shows (this one a samurai drama), "One can still feel hate even if the head understands the reasons."
It would be difficult to forgive someone who enjoyed torturing and killing. I really don't think that canon-Snape would have enjoyed killing even if he'd been forced to do it as a DE. I can forgive a remorseful Snape, partially because, as others have said, of his miserable and possibly abusive childhood. Maybe it would be harder to sympathize with someone like James, who appears to have had every advantage. I honestly don't think that (canon) Snape is in danger of backsliding, after everything we've seen of him, and his "Lately, only those whom I could not save" statement.
I can't really picture this hypothetical torturer-Snape, which maybe is an indication that it's something I could not forgive.
Slightly OT but I've been thinking a lot about Japanese detective dramas, and how there's an emphasis on redemption over revenge in them. The police often convince the criminal to voluntarily turn himself/herself in, and they say something like, "Serve your time, and then start over again." I think with Snape I can forgive him because he is both remorseful and more importantly, he is working to make up for his past wrongs.
Of course, it's easy for me to forgive Snape, since he's a fictional character who hasn't done anything to me. If I were a friend or relative of someone that he hurt (or failed to save, such as Charity Burbage), maybe I wouldn't find it so easy to forgive, even if I believed that he was sincerely remorseful. To quote another of my Japanese shows (this one a samurai drama), "One can still feel hate even if the head understands the reasons."