'Less likely to kill again' isn't the only metric we are going for here. Some people like to assuage their own conscience by believing in rehabilitation only, but prison sentences are actually for more than that. They exist to punish as well, because otherwise the victims feel no sense of actual justice - the victim didn't matter, the only real problem here is that we now have someone who might kill again, so let's fix that and then set him on his way.
The length of this sentence is absolutely a cultural thing - perhaps some would feel that 7 years before unsupervised weekends is a fitting punishment. I can guarantee you that most Americans do not - if you want to see a rapid increase in vigilantism in the U.S., try reduced sentences for things like murder.
Oh, and I would fully expect to have the court system hit me the harshest penalty they could - they hate vigilantism. But that's irrelevant to the decision that got me there.
The length of this sentence is absolutely a cultural thing - perhaps some would feel that 7 years before unsupervised weekends is a fitting punishment. I can guarantee you that most Americans do not - if you want to see a rapid increase in vigilantism in the U.S., try reduced sentences for things like murder.
Oh, and I would fully expect to have the court system hit me the harshest penalty they could - they hate vigilantism. But that's irrelevant to the decision that got me there.