Gwenn, so if she robbed you repeatedly, you would just say, "oh, well, she was abused in the past"? You wouldn't want her pay for her crime acts? What if she had a firearm, would your view change?

Yes, it is sad that people get into bad situations, but people with a good, strong moral character don't use their past bad experiences as an excuse for abusing drugs and breaking the law. I, too, had bad experiences growing-up. I didn't become a criminal, I became a good citizen and got a good job.

She knew what would happen if she committed these crimes, but she did them anyway. It seems only reasonable to give her the punishment she knew was coming. She had drug treatment in the past, too. So it wasn't like she was just cast aside. At some point one must be responsible for one's own actions. We are not animals that react on instinct, we have minds and the ability to use logic, reason, past experiences, and knowledge, to determine the best course of action. She decided drug abuse and crime were the right way for her - society views it differently.

This quote of her abusive childhood is one that is claimed by many or most of those incarcerated in our jails and prisons. Seemingly every sexual predator claims to have been a victim of sexual abuse. Many of these claims are true. We need to be cognizant of that with our empathy for their unfortunate background. However it is not a get-out-of-jail card. Regardless of whether one has a good excuse, a criminal remains a threat to the public. Again, empathy is still justified for those removed from society.