> Mental heath services should have been provided if Edwin was depressed or mentally unhealthy. Sure, agreed, but again... the narrative of a cold and uncaring

> Mental heath services should have been provided if Edwin was depressed or mentally unhealthy. Sure, agreed, but again... the narrative of a cold and uncaring family/milieu is just false. His mentors at school were deeply concerns. He went to rehab and they kicked him out as a lost cause. Etc. Other people cared about him, but he didn't care about him. The idea that he just needed a bit more understanding and sympathy seems extremely misguided... if anything, he had too much "soft love". If I were the judge, in his case, I would've strongly insisted on community service. Would it have helped change his mindset or at least break his death spiral? Who knows. But it had a better chance than prison. > Community hours are a punishment, albeit a socially useful one It's also a personally useful one. Seeing other people pitching in and seeing the tangible positive effects of one's actions can help some people introspect and really come to terms with the tangible negative effects of their previous actions. Not always, but sometimes.