Nobody is saying that his childhood was good. I have no idea what his childhood was like. However, many people have spent time in the federal system for non-violent crimes and get victimized by very violent men and end up becoming violent themselves just to survive.
That’s the problem I have. Unless you have committed an act of violence, or the equivalent of violence, like a Madeoff ripoff, you shouldn’t be subject to the Dante’s inferno that we call the American prison system.
An eye for an eye was about proportional retribution, not maximal punishment.
From this guys record, he did not receive one maximal sentence. He committed a series of crimes and was sentenced for each. Could he have been rehabilitated at some point? Who knows.
Psychology is an imperfect science. I don’t think there will ever be a perfect formula for regulating human behavior. The System is likewise not perfect and never will be. But its first responsibility is to protect law abiding citizens from criminals. In this case, it failed at that and rehabilitation.