I mean, he didn't even get a life sentence. That's in the headline, I know, but it's just not true.
He's in the hospital indefinitely, not sentenced to life. There's a big fat or clause that completely undermines the "life sentence".
He’s required to stay in the hospital prison for life unless doctors determine that he’s no longer a danger.
I'm not really sure what anyone thinks WOULD be just and proper in this kind of situation. I don't know many details of this particular case, but if there has been due process that determines someone is unsafe to release into society because they lack social capacity, releasing them anyway hardly seems like justice.
I'd like to believe -- though I know it basically isn't true -- that the justice system exists for the sake of justice. That it is primarily concerned with making whole the victims and making sure the criminals are rehabilitated such that they can safely rejoin society and even contribute to it in the future. I think that's how the justice system should work in a fair and just world. But if you have someone who is actually incapable of rejoining society, what are you supposed to do?
If we want to focus on the awfulness of this situation, I don't think the sentence is the issue. I think the focus would need to be on whether or not the hospital treatment has any chance of being effective -- because if it doesn't, THAT'S the story that matters.