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The sentence isn't just about punishment. It's also about protecting the rest of society from someone who has committed a vicious, brutal murder. I think mercy is a good thing and second chances are important for people who can indeed be rehabbed. However, some people are just so damaged psychologically that they simply can't be rehabbed. This kid stabbed another child into oblivion. This was no accident. It was a horrendous crime, and I don't know that I could trust him never to do something this horrible ever again. Giving him another chance, only to have him murder again, would be one more death too many. I don't know that the state can afford to take the risk. I do know I wouldn't want him anywhere near my family for fear that he would hurt them.
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