"Compassion is often regarded as having an emotional aspect to it, though when based on cerebral notions such as fairness, justice and interdependence, it may be considered rational in nature and its application understood as an activity based on sound judgment"
To be utterly clear, having compassion for the perpetrator of a crime does not mean you somehow chip into the absolute abhorrence you feel for the crime or the desperation you feel for the victim. Compassion can be a very considered choice.
Trying to understand why something happened and more importantly, prevent it from happening again, is not justifying the crime in the first place. Conversely, crying out that somebody is inhuman and evil does try and justify it in a sense. What we are doing when we label somebody evil, is essentially saying they are not like us. We would never do that. It is so far outside our experience that she has ceased to be human. She is inhuman. She is evil. It was outside of society's control. There was this awful, driving force over which we have no control. It would be reassuring if this was true but as somebody else said, it's as nonsensical as believing not catching a flight which was later shot down means you are somehow blessed. She was human. She was on the very, very end of a spectrum. Her behaviour was rare and awful but she was one of us and might be one of us again one day.
It is entirely possible and documented that a mother may have entirely different feelings for one of her children btw. Somebody asked earlier.
I do have a friend who suffered from psychosis following the birth of one of her children. She is very fortunate that she comes from a loving and supportive family, had an educated and aware husband and intervention was swift and effective. She is very clear that without that intervention, her actions towards her child would have been abhorrent in the end. She is not evil. She is an educated, loving, compassionate woman. She is as human as I am. Now I am of course not comparing. I am not saying Rosdeep was mentally ill. I do not know the facts of the case. I am merely saying that sometimes humans do despicable and incomprehensible things. Why they do them is something we should make an effort to understand and more importantly, prevent. The rational side of me refuses to just stick a label of evil on it and to wish ill upon the perpetrator. Because that's not justice. There is no justice here. It might make somebody feel better to channel their disgust, horror and outrage into that kind of wish but it is rationally of no use.
You don't have to feel compassionate. That is your right and I don't question it at all. But don't dismiss people who do want to understand and don't wish pain and suffering on perpetrators of a crime and don't assume they don't care about the victims.