This is the case because at the most basic philosophical level, children represent the notion that life is intrinsically valuable.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Appeasing child killers

We may be better angels now than before, and we may be too distracted enough by cheap entertainment to avoid a life of crime, but we are still failing one another on a very basic level in not just our criminal justice system, but our public education system and our basic social contract.

FORBES: Better Angels or Bread and Circuses?