One hopes he made a vow to himself to turn his life around and try to be a decent member of society
And as others have said - he could well be tortured by his own part in the; he might wake up sobbing every night; he might well struggle with suicide on a daily basis - we don't know.
Elektra - I remember (vaguely) that incident in Norway - I, too, was impressed by the way it was handled - they didn't have crowds of 00s of adults chasing the police van, banging on the sides, baying for blood. I can't remember a great deal about it, but your brief account sis ring a bell - I might search for it
Shanda Sharer - I hadn't heard of this poor child - horrible. The girls who murdered her were older. All seem t have experienced abuse.
I think, as someone said earlier on the thread, it is often a combination of early life experiences coupled with a hideous meeting up of other children with similar experiences, one of whom is a "leader" (I did read once that "leadership" was an honest, socially acceptable use of psychopathy). I think, as well, that a suitable victim has to become available. When this combination occurs, anything can happen.
When you think of even "normal" ordinary people caught up in a mob situation - they lose all sense of responsibility and control and the "pack" instinct to bring down and kill just takes over. This is a situation that any of us could find ourselves in - and it is partly (I would think) an instinct of self-preservation - you can't be seen to be fighting against the prevailing pack behaviour, or you, too, become a victim.
The girls who murdered Shanda will not have dared, once they had started, to have backed down. As I understand it (and I'm NOT a psychologist, nor am I particularly well-read, but I do find this topic interesting) there is almost always a "leader" who holds the others in thrall - not unlike any group of children in any playground, except of course, that these are damaged and dangerous children.
A hurt child - or adult - often has a tremendous need to lash out at the world that did this to them.
Repeated abuse from a very young age can change the way your brain works and your behaviour
This must invariably happen, though it may not make a murderer - it may make a timid, anxious person, or one who flies off the handle for nothing, or any range of behaviours. As a PP said (something like) "genetics loads the guns and society fires it". I really believe that most violent behaviour has its roots in fear, even when that fear is so deep and so long ago, it is consciously forgotten. This is why it is so dangerous - response to it becomes an instinct, and fighting an instinct is difficult in the extreme.