Researching Reconciliation

I found an interesting article describing the process of Confession, or now referred to as The Sacrament of Reconciliation. Sandra DeGidio writes that the Catholic sacrament is a process of conversion, confession and celebration.
Conversion, the first step, is an internal and deliberate decision to change ones value system. “Unless we can see that our values, attitudes and actions are in conflict with Christian ones, we will never see a need to change or desire to be reconciled,” writes DeGidio.

I would imagine that the person who dropped the teargas must realize what harm they have done and want to change that part of their life. Few want to think of themselves as a killer. It must be hard to ignore that part of ones personal history. How does one rid themselves of that part of their character?

Is the first step to internally admit their culpability and decide to do something about it? Like come forward and acknowledge the consequences of their actions.