In a perfect world, I think that sentencing should be fair. Obviously it’s not everywhere you go, but it should be fair and it should in my opinion, take into consideration more than just the crime that was committed. If childhood trauma was a key contributor to an individuals offending… then why wouldn’t it be relevant? Surely that deserves a level of acknowledgement and consideration when deciding on the appropriate punishment during sentencing. I am in no way saying that we simply should just erase their responsibility in their actions, and in some cases their victim’s suffering at their actions, but ignoring it completely, especially if it is relevant to the offending behaviour, may mean that individuals with very different levels of capacity and responsibility are treated as exactly the same. I don’t think that works as it currently stands.