"The sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders should be eliminated. ...even those teens who commit horrific crimes (and chances are that immaturity and substance abuse are factors) will be far different people after 25 years in prison."

Yes, they will be different, I thought, when I read this editorial in The North County Times this morning. But psychologists say that people rarely change. My ex began a life of crime when he was 17 and became a gang member; and, died in April from liver failure due to drug and alcohol abuse. He was 63 and had tried to get clean several times. He often went to prison and whether he was in or out, no one tried to change him. He often said that he preferred prison because it was easier to get drugs in there than on the outside.

Once you prove yourself to be a violent offender, why should the safety of the public be risked to give you a second chance? Victims don't get a second chance and neither should you. We're not talking about stealing candy here. People who murder and rape have sociopathic and pathologic personalities and can't be trusted to change.