Until we live in a universe where the harm to the victims can be undone I think we have to accept that ours is one where your actions are forever. If I could flip a switch so that we lived in the other kind of universe, I would, but I can't convince myself that that's the character of the universe we actually inhabit.

As for my own actions, I've never beat anyone's head in with a hammer or raped a defenseless woman in an alley or abused a child, and yet I think every day about the harms I have inflicted on others over the course of my life. I'm not sure I totally understand what people even mean by "starting over." It's not something I would expect for myself and if I ever do commit any of the aforementioned crimes (God help me) I hope I have the courage to put a bullet in my own throat before I'm ever tempted to ask for a "second chance."