Sailor rejecting forgiveness, finding way out (8)
I believe the answer is:
solution
'way out' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sailor rejecting forgiveness' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'rejecting' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'forgiveness' becomes 'absolution' (absolution is release from guilt).
'absolution' with 'ab' removed is 'SOLUTION'.
'finding' is the link.
(Other definitions for solution that I've seen before include "you get when not concentrating?" , "something involving less concentration" , "Elucidation - mixture of substances" , "Answer (to a puzzle)" , "The answer sought" .)