I don't want to be a complete turd, but you haven't given any examples of such people -- or even really made an argument that whatever examples you would have g

I don't want to be a complete turd, but you haven't given any examples of such people -- or even really made an argument that whatever examples you would have given are a significant proportion. I can think of a few, and in all but one case, their "conversion" is rather suspect. Or "horrendous" means some form of not-so-violent larceny (e.g. about as far as brandishing a weapon to intimidate) -- not rape or violent assault. One uncomfortable thing you have to face in life is that some people are worth significantly less than others. I'd rather save an animal at the shelter than save the examples of utter trash the article mentions. There are billions of people on the planet, you're not going to miss these bits of broken humanity (and no, I don't particularly care about their families). Would you really trust some of these people you talk about in the abstract? It's one thing to say that you read about Joe Thug turning his life around in Salon. It's quite another to trust your life around this person.