Can't disagree with any of that but I still don't see how to change it without taking a backward step in social behaviour. I think if we err towards the 'lock 'em up and throw away the key' school of thought then it's a step on a slippery slope to somewhere I'd rather we did not go. In terms of concern and sympathy for the families of victims I believe there is never any shortage of that but I don 't know how it can be expressed in any sort of worthwhile, tangible capacity. Some might say more stringent sentencing would be some compensation, I'm not sure it would be in the longer term and I would also doubt the deterrent value.
One of the saddest aspects of this, to me at least, is that it's a reminder of what we are still capable of. It will happen again, there'll be more distraught bereaved families, and there will be debates like this about sentencing policy. I just hope it happens less and less often.
