Most people thought they couldn't feel any less sympathetic for him during his trial, then amazed themselves by managing to do just that following his ridiculous defence argument. For those who don't know, he claimed that these two fit young girls just simultaneously fell into a bath of water, banged their heads, drowned and there was nothing he could do about it. All he wanted to plead guilty to was concealing their bodies for a bit. He conforms to most people's definition of evil; with a well-known face like his, he'll probably be treated like a monster by everyone he ever meets.
Tim's point is exactly right - we're paying a lot of money to keep this man in a constant state of terrible despair with no possible chance of rehabilitation or release. This man will never do anything for the community. And think about the impact on the family of those girls each time his name comes into the news: it can’t be helping them, can it?
What is the purpose of prison for Huntley? If it's punishment, where do we stop? Would a daily flogging torture this man any more? Is it to act as a deterrent to others? Would Huntley’s plight serve to deter anyone else from committing similar crimes? Somehow I think not. Anyone in a dark enough place to contemplate such terrible things is unlikely to give prison a moments thought. Following his crime Huntley knew he would be in serious trouble and this surely drove him in his desperation to hide what he’d done.
All that’s left is the fact that a country has a duty of care to all citizens, no matter how badly they’ve behaved. In this instance I think that duty would best be served by ending his sorry life.