What makes argument by pathos successful?

Arguments based on pathos can be successful because we are human beings, not machines. People are emotional and can sometimes not pay attention to logical arguments because another one touches them at a personal level. For example, if I were invited to be in a jury where a person is in trial because he killed someone that did a horrible thing to his kid, there is a big chance that a lawyer can persuade me with a pathos argument. Anyone who had ever had a baby in their hands can understand what a person can do if anyone hurts their kid. Even if I know that killing a bad person is not right, I would think about my baby and what I would do if I were him. And then I will probably say that he shouldn't go to jail. Because we are human beings and we can relate to other peoples experiences, arguments by pathos can be very successful.