A bit of compassion, is it wrong?

Today I had a difficult time focusing on my usual Sunday to do list. I usually have a rhythm that I stick to and it flows until I've realized that it's almost time to go and feel a bit relieved that I came very close to completing it. Sundays are the days where all the important people are off and I can catch up, review, update and look forward to Monday's rush.

But this morning I was watching an interview of a young man who had committed an armed robbery and it sadden me to hear his reasoning. He had what you would call a rough upbringing; no role models and a lack of parenting. At the age of 20 he is now a father himself and it appears that his child will experience some of what he went through as well.

I don't know what his sentencing will be, but am I wrong to feel some compassion for him? For his child whose father will have a criminal record? For our youth who are making decisions that are going to affect the rest of their lives? Although I never committed any criminal acts, I do have some regrets about the decisions I made at 20, and in my thirties for that matter.

I know it's a mixed emotion filled question.... If we give them another chance, the victim may not be so lucky as to survive and if we punish them on the first round, our society will be filled with young men who leave behind young children because they made a split decision without any regards for tomorrow's outcome.

I don't know, maybe I'm just feeling this way because I've never had a gun stuck in my face and a stranger demanding that I turn over everything I have. Please forgive me if you were a victim of a crime and you were tramatized as a result. I do know what side of the Law I serve, but being as though Christ forgave all of my sins; I think HIS forgiveness has spilled over into my professional life....