Well, here's another perspective. Modern communication systems bring more of this type of disturbing information to my mind than ever before. Whether we are becoming more desensitized to the harshness of the realities of human depravity, or if stories like this affect us in a very emotional way, I say we are losing a bit of our humanity, our innocence, by learning exactly how depraved man can be. How many young people read this story and others like it? Do you think it has an affect on them? How many know what tub girl is? Does seeing that manner of disgusting depravity change a person? I think it does. The more I read about how children like this innocent girl are hurt, killed, maimed with acid, etc., it changes me slightly over and over. I feel my heart ripped out as I empathize with the families of the victims and feel anguish for the victim. I feel my heart then become hardened to the plight of the perpetrator, the plight he or she created for themselves. And I find myself thinking about a suitable punishment for those crimes. What would be suitable for raping and then burning to death a little 10 year old girl? Could there be anything suitable? No, I don't lose my humanity when I think about how that monster should be punished. I lose it when I imagine the crime - the act itself causes me to lose a bit of my humanity as a mental image forms of the hell that little girl endured at the hands of this sick demon, who's a member of that humanity you propose we try to preserve. No, the only thing that restores humanity is the desire to right the wrong that's been committed. The only true justice is to bring her back to life. Knowing we can't bring the victim back to life, the human need to balance the scales demands a search for revenge. What punishment fits that crime? Sodomy with a baseball bat? That's a start. How do we take away from him the 70 years of life he robbed that little girl and the potential positive impact she had on those around her? The only thing that restores my humanity is knowing that his crimes will not go unpunished and that he's made to suffer in the same way, or as close as possible, as what he deserves. But alas, criminals have rights and thus "guard your humanity" type sentiment like this. Deny his personhood is denying our own? You bet. He's not a person. He lost that when he acted like a wild animal - no worse. Even a wild animal usually eats for food or to protect territory or its den. When was the last time you were raped by a Mountain Lion? And what do we do with wild animals that attack? We summarily execute them. THAT too is part of humanity, as is your response. We may not agree but we are part of the same humanity. Don't deny the need for justice or revenge is natural or that it somehow denies a person's humanity. You know what denies a person's humanity? Raking and burning them to death.