Justice is not the same as revenge, and often quite the opposite. In this particular case, especially in hindsight, I find it hard to imagine a heavy-handed prosecution and jail time having been a good idea.

Look, I think that Ted deserved punishment for what he did. Of course he did. At the same time, I can't blame him for using connections to get out of that mess. I'll be totally honest and say that if I fucked up big-time, I'd do everything I could to avoid years in prison for it. Not because I think people should get away with killing people, but because years in prison is a terrifying punishment. So while I kind of wish he'd been given more than a slap on the wrist, I don't hold it against him that he wasn't punished.

To suggest that he wasn't changed by what he did, however, is ludicrous. I'm certain he was haunted by that incident for a long, long time, and that it changed who he was as a person. Certainly the Ted Kennedy that died today was not the Ted Kennedy that once abandoned a dying woman.

We all grow up and leave our tragic youths behind. Some youths are just much more tragic than others.

In my experience that is a fallacy. Besides he was a politician - they know all about expected response. I don't think anyone here can make a statement like that.

(I know nothing about him, but it was a pretty sick thing to do. He certainly deserved a worse punishment)

(I'll ignore the "he was a politician" quip, which proves nothing and says nothing.)

That wasn't meant in the way you probably read it. Being a politician is a skill just like any job

As I said I don't know much about the guy, but in my experience of people in such a position (a public post) there is a difference between real change and the change we see :)

I'm just saying: only a few people (i.e. the close family) really could make a statement like that :)