I'm not equipped to say what did or didn't happen inside Columbine High School, or at Virginia Tech, that led to Harris, Klebold, and Cho taking their own lives prior to being arrested after their respective shooting rampages. In all likelihood, not one of them ever had the slightest interest in surviving to stand trial, and if they got what they wanted in that regard, then it's just one more crime to add to their lists.
But whether it's due to differences in police response or simply a lack of determination on the part of the shooters, it's been very encouraging to see two major shooting sprees now--Jared Lee Loughner in Arizona and now James Holmes in Colorado--end with the perpretrators behind bars, with long, sad trials ahead of them, rather than retreating into death without ever having to answer for their crimes.
I've heard a lot of people bemoan the amount of attention these shooters get in the media, and I can agree to a certain extent, but on balance I think it's better that the public get to know someone like Holmes very well, and learn just how depraved and pathetic he likely is.
Anyone who would look at the man in the picture above and see an example to live up to is too far gone already.
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