/lit/ - Literature

>>14753342
> bad luck
Wrong. Whatever happened, and no matter the circumstances, he actively made decisions and took actions that directly resulted in the death of another human being. You can not apologise for, dismiss, or downplay this fact.

His sentence, as it is, is very light. Rather than ‘educate’ himself, he should think long and hard about what in his character caused those actions and decisions, and the unbelievable gravity of the consequences of them. As much as I appreciate great works of literature can offer all sorts of insights into a person’s nature, spending his time doing this is simply avoidant, self-soothing behaviour. And, like I say, that’s how any parole board or authority will see it, too.

He should forget anything that gives him any sort of personal advantage, and spend the entirety of the time he is in there reflecting on himself, thinking about how he can make any sort of reparations to the family, and doing all he can to prove - to himself most of all - that he is accountable for his actions and he needs to deal with himself completely. Whatever that takes - self-help groups, volunteering, assisting where possible, and training himself to take on the responsibility of carrying his share of the terrible burden he has placed on this family. Not sit, squirrelled away, hiding behind books. He needs to man up.