#33: “The rehabilitation impulse isn’t so much about genuine compassion as it is about people not wanting to get their own hands bloody, or their own consciences stained.”

I agree with this entirely. The same farce was enacted over Myra Hindley. Her “cause” was taken up by woolly-minded sympathizers like Lord Longford. I’ve always thought that these appeals for mercy and clemency for criminals are disguised exercises in self-pity. Poor us, we’ve inherited this barbarous burden from our predecessors, and we’re stuck having to continue being strong long after the emotional surge of the crime and trial have faded. It’s just too hard! We want to shrink back into comfort and not have to deal with these ugly responsibilities anymore. Just let them out, and WE’LL be off the hook, and won’t have to soil our lily-white hands with such disagreeably sordid tasks.