Widow Testifies at a Military Court

[ShadowHM]

Hi Pete

Having said that, it is the idea of having sympathy for him that bothers me. I regret the existence of the situation that led to this issue. Just as I regret the conditions in the inner cities that have led to gang activity. But, in neither case do I feel any empathy for those who embraced those paths, through youthful ignorance or not. If the ends were inescapable, we'd have hundreds, even thousands, in his situation. That we don't indicates, to me, that the majority have resisted the same influences to become relatively normal people.

There are two problems with that analysis. First, you have conflated American inner city gang violence with the the conditions of warfare. And secondly your facts are in error. There are thousands in his situation. I wish that were not so.

That you would refuse to sympathize with these children bothers me.

Should you wish to discuss the rationale for zero flexibility in sentencing (i.e. 'punishing the guilty without consideration of whether they're saints or sinners') I invite you to start another thread. This one is already messy enough.