Some people really are, as the song says, just “bad to the bone.” Fortunately, a judge last week put one of them behind bars for a good, long stretch.

David J. Mair was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison for the 2004 attack on Mary Nash, a physician in her early 60s who happened upon Mair as he burglarized her Fryeburg home.

Rather than simply fleeing Nash’s house, Mair, 31, repeatedly struck her with his fists, then with a flashlight and a wrench, all the while shouting obscenities at her. Finally, he pulled a knife and threatened to kill her.

Fortunately, when Mair turned away, Nash ran to a neighbor’s house and called police.

As Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley said Tuesday, Mair clearly hoped to “terrify, humiliate, control and dominate” his victim.

Dr. Nash was left with a broken nose, two shattered fingers, bruises and lacerations. She’s probably lucky to be alive.

“It has been a long 18 months,” Nash told the court, “since this horrible morning. It comes to me every day of my life.”

And that, of course, is the truly terrifying thing about such a brutal crime – the victim never forgets, at least not completely. She will always wonder whether she is safe, whether the doors are locked, whether the sound in the night could be an attacker.

Judge Crowley said Mair showed no remorse for the crime, and pointed out that he had spent most of his adult life in custody, making him an unlikely candidate for rehabilitation.

We agree.

Mair has a long history of violent crime, including separate convictions for assault, robbery and threatening with a dangerous weapon.

We hope Dr. Nash can recover and go on with her life. We also hope and pray that David Mair is off Maine’s streets for a long time.