Genesis 37:22

And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him in to this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. Reuben here almost redeems himself for the crime which he committed against his father. For although he, for the sake of the success of his plan, had to express himself in such a way as to lead his brothers to infer that he was willing to let Joseph die in the cistern, it was the only way to gain their consent. He hoped to find ways and means afterwards of saving Joseph's life, and of restoring him to his father. If Reuben had not yet fully repented of his great sin and was still morally weak, he at least showed evidence of a change.