Lets not fall for this routine again. Does the name Jack Abbott ring a bell? He was the charming fellow that Norman Mailer got sprung from prison. Problem was, once he was out, ol' Jack couldn't resist his old habits. A short time after he was released he stabbed some poor busboy or waiter to death outside the place the kid worked at. Mark Twain wrote a great piece called "Lionizing Murderers about this nonsense of the weak minded to take up the cause for murdering scum they wouldn't give the time of day to if they met them on the street. Look it up and read it and see if it doesn't ring true today.
"But, seriously, is it well to glorify a murderous villain on the scaffold, as Pike was glorified in New Hampshire? Is it well to turn the penalty for a bloody crime into a reward? Is it just to do it? Is, it safe?"