I'm gonna voice an extremely unpopular view here. I do not know if the Son of Sam was really Jewish or not, so I will stay out of that question. However--can somebody demonstrate to me why someone who is REALLY repentant can never be forgiven? I don't deny that the vast majority of Death Row conversions are phony, or claim that they should be pardoned if they repent (the way Mike Huckabee believes), but really--how can you all know for a fact that Dahmer, or for that matter Berkowitz, did not make a genuine change of heart?
I agree--keep them locked up or execute them, regardless of contrition, but if any of you can claim to know what is in their hearts, please share with me your secrets of achieving omniscience!