Prison for life

Yesterday I wrote about the virtues of solitary confinement:

Do we really want criminals mingling with other criminals, in whose company they will enjoy an alternative and debased normality? Far better to have them feel that they have been cut off from human society, and then conditionally welcomed back (there are some who should be cut off forever, either on account of the seriousness of their initial offence, or persistent reoffending).

Here's an example of the sort of criminals I think should never be released:

Three boys have been detained for kicking to death a Big Issue seller in a "chillingly casual" attack.

The body of Ralph Millward, 41, was found in bushes in Bournemouth last year. A supermarket trolley had been dumped on top of him....

Jimmy Ayres, 15, Craig Real, 17, and Warren Crago, 17, were convicted of manslaughter last month.

Now, I got into a fair bit of trouble as a teenager, but unprovoked violence against a stranger would never have occurred to me. Society needs to send a strong message against this kind of behaviour. These 'boys' were more than old enough to appreciate right from wrong.

Judge Guy Boney described the attack as a "mindless and chillingly casual" act of violence.

He added it was an utterly merciless killing and a wicked act.
...
Det Insp Jez Noyce, of Dorset Police, said: "The senseless acts of a small group of boys led to the death of Ralph Millward... boys who had no thoughts of the consequences of their actions.

"It would be a sad indictment of society should this mindset be allowed to flourish unchecked.

"This conviction and sentence should serve as a warning to those who feel they can go through life abdicating responsibility for their actions and not then face the consequences."

I agree. So what terrible sentence did these thugs face?

Ayres was detained for 90 weeks, Real for four years nine months and Crago must serve four years.

Sickening. If Transportation were still an option, it would be the ideal choice. These three should be cut off from British society for life. That would be a punishment fitting their crime, and it would send the right message to others who would consider the same sport.