[glogla]

I guess that's debatable.

I would say that even humans who decided to become monsters (say, Unit 731, Mengele, Breivik, various serial killers, etc) deserve human rights and humane treatment in eyes of the law, because taking those away is a bad precedent for society.

The state should consider them people because the state has to consider everyone people, and making exceptions is very dangerous.

That doesn't mean we as individuals have to morally consider them as anything other than the monsters they are.

[glloydell]

You don't have to, but doing so is a strategy to prevent yourself from going down that same path.

When you cast people into the realm of inhuman monster, you're also telling yourself a story that there is no possible way that you could potentially commit the same acts.

Which is, 99% of the time, a total lie. Humans are exceptionally good at creating moral justification for whatever the hell we want to do.

If you're convinced you are constitutionally incapable of committing monstrous acts, then you're not likely to engage in the self reflection that would allow you to catch yourself if you start heading down that path.