Who is American?

I watched the Ted talk by Anand Giridhardas today. You can watch it here.
It is about a Bangladeshi Immigrant (Rais Bhuiyan) to USA who was shot by an American after 9/11 attacks as a form of revenge. The assailant (Mark Stroman) was eventually caught by the police.  That's not the end of the story. A remarkable story is Rais not only forgave the attacker but also sued the state of Texas to save him from the death penalty.  The author (Anand G) asks who was real American here?

America is known to be a country where people are generous, forgiving and is a land of opportunity.  But Anand claims that within the same country, we have another country that is stingy at giving second chances to people.

I haven't read the book but this is very intriguing story.  I definitely plan to read it someday.