I think if I felt that the real killer of a loved one due to some one-on-one brutal crime was in stir, I'd want him or her to stay that way. If that person was fatally ill, and I was convinced of same, I'd want a say in compassionate leave for that person and if I had a personal knowledge of his/her family, it is possible that I would be in favor of it. If I felt that a mass killer such as the one in this case, and I had enough personal knowledge to believe him guilty, no way would I want him out under any conditions for any amount of time.

And even if I did, I'd want to know that other victims felt the same, and didn't suffer because of the release.

One of the most fascinating things about crime and punishment is that we as participants and even as onlookers can have vastly different reactions to similar actions based on motive. A man drives over another man because he doesn't see him provokes a different response from us from a man who deliberately drives over someone. Same means, same people, same death. But motive is all important. Because we see ourselves and how we'd feel both as victim and perpetrator.

With something like putting a bomb on an aircraft, I can only see myself on that plane.