<<When the Columbine murders occurred here in Colorado, there was a huge competition to see who could forgive the perps quickest. So, there were letters of forgiveness placed on their crosses like a monument.>>
Abdul Haq, there is another possible explanation for the behavior you allude to above, other than the one you offer ("pop culture doesn't like behaviors to be judged"). Forgiveness, after all, is considered to be a Christian virtue (especially when the person you are forgiving is already dead -- that is, has already suffered the maximum punishment a court could inflict).
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us..
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
...Love your enemies, do good unto those which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you..For if ye do good to them that do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
And so forth. I am not saying this is the only explanation for the phenomenon you deplore, but I do think it may be one of them.
I also wonder about your assertion that there is a trend, in the courts, "to discount the personal responsibility of perpetrators of heinous crimes in lieu of their bad upbringing."
It seems to me the real trend has been in the opposite direction: thanks to the drug laws, the three-strikes you're out approach, etc., there are more people in jail, for longer terms, than ever before. The United States has more people in jail, proportionate to the total population, than any other country that keeps crime statistics, except for Russia. Do you really think that is because we have that many more "real" criminals?
Joan
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