Should this womans past matter?

[robvalue]

I'd like to comment on the idea that someone who has been to jail has "paid their debt to society".

I think it's a ridiculous phrase. You got caught and are facing the prescribed punishment. It's nothing to do with any debt. Especially in the case of murder, the idea that you could ever repay the taking of a life is disgusting to me. The crime, if one was actually committed, has not been erased. If you were actually innocent, then it makes even less sense to use that phrase.

It almost makes sense I suppose if the crime was relatively minor, and you're just being stood out to think about what you did. I'm not against giving people a second chance of course, and I don't like holding past deeds against them, depending on the context. But you can't pretend like it never happened.

Personally, I think anyone that murders another human should generally never be released from prison. It's someone who is capable and willing to cross a line which makes them unfit for society, and it's not fair on innocent people to have someone like that walking around among them. If in this case she didn't actually do the murders but was complicit, that's not exactly the same, and it would depend on the details. I'd have to hear a pretty strong case on her behalf for me to consider letting her keep any further kids, though. As Steel said, being not in your right mind can be a factor.