Yeah I agree. I don't think he's fully had a change of heart or anything, but the potential shame that he undoubtedly feels right now, might eat at him enough to eventually actually have a change of heart.

An example - that is of course much much much less serious than this - is when I was a teenager, and acted like a smug prick towards some friends, and acted like I was much smarter than them. They (rightfully) called me out, and while I was initially defensive, the shame of it made me realize that I had in fact been wrong, and when I made my second apology to my friends, I actually truly meant it. They accepted it, and I no longer behaved that way. Shame is a tool, and it can work wonders. However, if I had just apologized, and then continued to act this way, they should of course not have accepted it.

My point is just that shame can actually make people change, and if the person in question actually does change in their words, and their actions, then it is a good thing to, maybe not accept, but to acknowledge the apology. Reason I say acknowledge is that no one is required to just "accept" a person that has slighted them, I just mean in the societal sense, it's good that people are afforded the opportunity to change.