crime and drugs (in fact, I think all drugs should be legal), but by the same token the aggregate data is pretty conclusive that violent offenders are prone to pretty high recidivism rates. That's probably some combination of their upbringing, their environment and their actual makeup, but one of those 3 things is pretty unchangeable, and I'd hate to be the one explaining why he was let go despite 2 life sentences if he kills again.

There's definitely an element of trying to figure out what we're trying to do by imprisoning people: are we primarily trying to protect the public or punish the guilty? Another concern is that this type of action essentially puts an unelected bureaucrat from the executive branch in a position to overrule another branch of government in "their" domain.

Another can of worms: are parole decisions race-blind?