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Victoria F Lohn's avatar

As a retired law enforcement officer, I firmly believe that there must be criminal justice reform. Generally speaking, the punishment should fit the crime, but offenders must be given an opportunity. Just like this gentleman, there are many in prison that should have been released years ago. I also believe that in most cases, some of the people convicted are not bad people, they made a mistake and should have the opportunity to join society without the stigma of a criminal record.

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AGChambers's avatar

Re: deferring to the victim’s family. My view is that’s not relevant. Forgiveness benefits and frees the foregiver - more than the foregiven. If the victim’s family refuses to foregive, then they are choosing to continue to be trapped in their own bitterness. His past actions put him in prison. His subsequent actions/accomplishments over the past 25 years and the nature of the opportunity available warrant his release and return to society as an accomplished and productive citizen. As his actions put him prison, his actions while in prison should be the sole determinant of whether he has “paid” his debt sufficient to be trusted as a free man.

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