In terms of whether or not, people can change, I think that people definitely are likely to change especially when threatened with death. As for whether or not Clifford Boggess had changed, I think that he did, but not in a beneficial way. He merely found an excuse and justification for what he did. It bothered me how he was so sure that he was going to heaven and that he knew that god had forgiven him. His conceited sense of overconfidence irritated me and gave the sense that he felt no remorse for what he did.
I don't think that the families and friends of the victims got any real sense of releif after Clifford was executed. It is often the case that the loss of one person's effect on someone is not made any less painful by taking another life. It obviously cannot bring back the victims. I would not want to be the one to have to determine whether someone is to live or die, but I think that in this case it ended up that Clifford was rightfully executed seeing as he saw it not as cruel and terrible and he was beyond doubt the killer. I do appreciate his artistic abilities, but there are many other great artists that didn't have to kill to hone their abilities.
